Five libraries in Dudley are facing the axe as part of an overhaul of the borough service.

Libraries in Dudley Wood, Woodside, Quarry Bank, Amblecote and Wall Heath are due to get the chop. Library bosses say savings will help boost other sites.

But the move was today criticised by some councillors. They say the threatened libraries are a “lifeline” for many elderly users.

Councillor Bryan Cotterill – whose ward covers both Dudley Wood and Quarry Bank libraries – said he was furious about the plans.

“There are so many old people in my ward that are devastated by this,” he said.

“It is all very well saying other libraries will be improved, but what good is that if you can’t even get there in the first place?

“These small libraries may not be used by thousands of people, but they are a lifeline for many of the people that do.”

Council bosses today said the closures were part of a £2million “modernisation” of the borough’s library service to meet national standards set by the Government. They say it will allow investment in a new library for Brierley Hill, built in partnership with Stourbridge College, a major refurbishment of Wordsley Library, and improvements to other libraries.

New services called Library Links are proposed in Woodside, Dudley Wood and Quarry Bank, based in existing community centres.

They will provide more than 1,500 books, computer access and the opportunity to reserve books from other libraries and have them delivered the following day.

No jobs will be shed through the closures.

Councillor Michael Evans, cabinet member for libraries, defended the move, saying the doomed venues accounted for just six per cent of library issues.

The closures are set to be rubber-stamped at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday 12.