A community-run library has celebrated its 50th anniversary with tea and cake, just four years after being threatened with closure.
Stoneleigh Library was forced to appeal for volunteers to run it after Surrey County Council voted to get rid of most of the full-time staff at the library in The Broadway in 2011.
From October 2011: Stoneleigh Library appeals for volunteers as take over preparations begin
The plan for Stoneleigh and other libraries was due to save £300,000 a year across the county.
From February 2013: Volunteer-run Stoneleigh library re-opens with professional staff members
But a group of determined volunteers formed the Friends of Stoneleigh Library in response to the scaling back of council support, and today about 70 members give up their time in shifts to ensure the doors remain open.
L-R: Epsom and Ewell mayor Chris Frost and the Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP with Diana Kay, chairman of Friends of Stoneleigh Library
Stoneleigh Library was officially opened on April 23, 1966, by the then-mayor or Epsom and Ewell, and on Saturday, the Friends of Stoneleigh Library held a 50th birthday party.
An exhibition chronicling the history of the area was on display, including photos from the library’s opening in 1966.
Chris Grayling, MP for Epsom and Ewell, presented the library with a framed aerial photograph of Stoneleigh (pictured below), and tea and cake were served.
Diana Kay, chairperson of the friends group said: “I am delighted that Stoneleigh Library is alive and well and this is a fact that we all need to celebrate.
“Four years ago it was announced that the library was diagnosed as terminally ill or 'no longer viable or failing' according to Surrey County Council.
“The people in Stoneleigh refused to accept the diagnosis and disagreed with the prognosis because the tests and measurements used did not reflect the true value of the library to the community.”
Friends of Stoneleigh Library manage the day-to-day running, while a librarian from the county council handles its administration.
L-R: Jacquie Kear, Austyn Morris, Harry Morris and Councillor Jan Mason enjoying Children's Rhyme Time at Stoneleigh Library
Ms Kay says this support has allowed her team of volunteers to engage more with the community they serve.
When Batman's not fighting crime on the streets of Gotham City, he's fighting illiteracy at his local library
The library teaches the history of Stoneleigh to Year 6 pupils from Meadow Primary School, offers work experience to Nescot College students, and offers a place for people to meet.
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