LIBRARY users in Dartmouth are being urged to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in their battle to secure the future of their valuable community hub. More than 50 people attended an information session at the town's library in the Flavel on Monday to ask questions and hear more about county council's proposals to shake up library services across Devon County council library services spokesman Cllr Roger Croad said the 13-week consultation, due to run until July 17, was an opportunity for people to give their views and suggestions on how they would like these important services to continue while also reducing costs. The proposals would see the creation of 22 Devon Centres at the busiest libraries and 28 smaller community libraries to be run by volunteers. Dartmouth is considered to be on the border line of the bandings. Cllr Croad said: 'We need to save £1.5m over the next two to three years across the whole library service. 'At the 22 libraries we've deemed as Devon hubs there will have to be considerable savings made as well so it doesn't really mater which category you are in, the hubs or the 28 community type libraries. Cllr Croad said he accepted that all 50 libraries across Devon were well-loved and well-staffed but doing nothing was not an option. 'This is not a closure programme but the status quo cannot be preserved,' he said. 'We need to change the way in which we run the library service. 'This is a comprehensive consultation exercise and no decisions have been made, I can promise you that.' And he assured those present that the community run libraries would still be managed by the library service, with a full turnover of books. 'We are not walking away,' he added. Dartmouth and Kingswear county councillor Jonathan Hawkins said it was vital that as many people as possible made their views known during the consultation period. 'This library is only 10 years old,' he said. 'It is part of Dartmouth and the Flavel centre is an amazing facility. 'It is already the type of a community hub that is exactly what county is trying to create. The number of users, the elderly and young people, are high for a community of our size. 'Dartmouth must relaise we can turn this around and we can keep our library. 'But we also have to be realistic. Whether we want it or not, we cannot put our heads in the sand. There has to be changes. 'So we have got to come forward as a community with a way of achieving some sort of balance. 'You have got to send off as many of these consultations as possible to make your views known that we want a community area library in Dartmouth and still want paid staff. 'A lot of what the county council is asking us to do, Dartmouth did 10 years ago. 'We have an area community hub already and I think some these savings we've already made and I hope that will be taken into consideration and we can make a compromise solution for Dartmouth.'