CUTBACKS to libraries across Cheshire are threatened unless more money can be found, councillors have warned.

Last year the county library service was in the red by £250,000, mainly due to increased costs and the amount spent on aging buildings.

Now, in a libraries sustainability review by a six-strong panel of county councillors and community leaders, the threat of service reductions has emerged.

Chairman Clr Larry Toale, in a report to Cheshire's community services scrutiny committee, has highlighted the perilous position of the library service.

He said: "At present the level of expenditure on library services does not appear to be sustainable.

"If resources are not made available, the current level of provision may have to be substantially reduced."

Every year the library service is earmarked for some form of cuts as part of the council's budget process.

But the long-term future of the department as a whole has been left hanging in the balance.

It is the review team's belief that a new framework needs to be drawn up for the service, which takes stock of everything - from the buildings themselves to how libraries link in with other community facilities.

Each library will be assessed for size, fitness for its purpose, the population it serves and the community benefits it brings.

Boroughs like Vale Royal, Macclesfield and Congleton are relatively well provided for, with a library in the principal and smaller towns and suburban branches.

But by comparison there are only libraries in Crewe and Nantwich borough for a population of around 110,000. Chester has not only a city library and six neighbourhood centres but five libraries in rural locations nearby as well.

The role of the mobile library service will also be examined - although councillors admit that users are unlikely to accept an increased role for such a function against a backdrop of library cuts or closures.