THOUSANDS of people have responded to proposals which could lead to the closure of several Hampshire libraries.

The mobile service and some lesser-used libraries could shut as part of a major review by Hampshire County Council as it bids to save £1.7 million.

More than 5,700 comments have been left after three weeks of consultation on plans to split libraries into four tiers based on use.

Some tier three libraries, which include Bishop's Waltham, Alresford and Fair Oak, may close or become volunteer-run.

Executive member for culture, recreation and countryside, Cllr Andrew Gibson, stressed the consultation was only on the tier system, with any "specific proposals" including closures to be discussed separately.

He said: “We’re very pleased that the consultation on our draft Library Strategy has sparked such strong interest, and we’re encouraging more people to have their say. All feedback is valuable and will be used to inform the final outcome, as no decisions have been made yet.

"At the moment, we are simply asking residents how libraries should be categorised, and what the criteria should be to help inform any future reviews. We would consult about specific proposals before any changes were made."

As previously reported, the county has targeted the mobile library service because it is used by an ageing population of 2,230 people, one per cent of Hampshire's library users. "Modern alternatives" such as eReaders, community exchanges or a home library service, could be installed from 2017.

Cllr Gibson added: “Nationally, the public sector faces considerable financial challenges with less money coming from central Government. Hampshire is no different – with the county council’s grant having been more than halved in recent years.

"This has affected budgets for all services, including libraries, and we are looking at estimated savings to the Library Service of £1.7 million by 2020."

The county is looking to reinvest £500,000 from the £2 million Book Fund into technology such as self-service borrowing, which Cllr Gibson said would make libraries "modern and vibrant". The Book Fund would be cut to £1.5 million from 2020.

Sean Cannon, from the regional branch of the anti-austerity People’s Assembly, urged more library users to take the survey.

“There are 200,000 people who use the service and there’s six million visits to Hampshire libraries, so [5,700] is not a huge sample in my opinion,” he said.

“I think you have to read the consultation documents extremely carefully because there’s so much spin in them. The first thing I noticed when I got my copy was all this language about ‘reproviding’ – I’m not sure that’s even a word.”

He added: “Just as the cuts nationally are ideologically driven by George Osborne, I believe the cuts to rural Hampshire particularly and its towns are ideologically driven as well."

The consultation runs until January 16. To view the draft Library Strategy and consultation questionnaire, visit hants.gov.uk/library.

Documents are available in hard copy from all Hampshire libraries and mobile library stops. A telephone survey of randomly-selected residents will be conducted before Christmas.