UNITE members picketed outside Ilkley Library on Monday as part of ongoing strike action.

The library was closed on Monday and Tuesday due to the action which is being taken in defence of the service which faces swingeing cuts.

The issue of the library’s future was discussed at a meeting of Ilkley Town Council when members expressed concern over the suggestion that it could be moved into the town hall. Helen Kidman from Ilkley Civic Society told the meeting there was a leak that there was an intention to move the library into the town hall - something she said she would be very concerned about.

“Particularly at a time when Bradford is bidding for City of Culture. What is more cultural than a library,” she said.

But Cllr Peter Mate told the meeting the suggestion came from an options paper looking at the future of libraries. He said it was “extremely unlikely” that the library would move into the town hall.

Bradford Council is holding a consultation, which closes on December 20, on the future of the library service and Unite is urging the public to make its views known if they want to safeguard the service for future generations.

Unite has charted a decade of cuts to libraries and museums by the council – the latest £950,000 for the year starting April 2019 and a further £1,050,000 earmarked for the financial year starting April 2020.