GRASSINGTON Library could close unless a more suitable alternative site can be found.

North Yorkshire County Council is currently looking for another site for the library, because the present building on Main Street does not comply with the Disability Discrimination Act which came into force last October.

The building also does not house any staff facilities, such as a toilet.

The future of the library has been brought into question ever since the Friday service was replaced by a new travelling Supermobile facility.

And if no alternative premises can be found, the Supermobile may become a more regular sight in the village.

Among the alternative sites being looked at by the county council is the Ladies Room in the Devonshire Institute.

However, Gordon Gresty, the council's director of business and community services, said the sites looked at so far were not an improvement on the premises at Main Street.

He said the room in the institute was about the same size as the current facility and therefore would offer no real improvement in the service.

"It is totally unsuitable," he said.

Mr Gresty said he was looking for a larger site that would allow the county council to not only provide a library service of books, but also DVDs, music and computers as well.

He said other libraries around the county had been renovated and updated to include these additional facilities and he hoped they would be able to do the same for Grassington.

However, unless a suitable location can be found, villagers may be faced with the closure of the Main Street library, with the Supermobile service in its place.

Mr Gresty described the premises on Main Street as "absolutely shocking".

If another building could not be found he would look at reworking the Supermobile schedule so that it could visit the village more often and operate for the same number of hours as the present library, including at least one evening

At the moment, no fixed time scale has been decided for a decision on the future of the Grassington branch, but Mr Gresty will be presenting a report to county councillors next month explaining the difficulties in finding a site which fits in with the county council's approach.

A petition to keep the library on Main Street collected around 200 signatures and has now been sent to the head librarian.

One of the main concerns of villagers is not only that they could lose a valuable service, but also the difficulties the Supermobile vehicle could face travelling from Northallerton during the winter, given that it struggled in February this year.

It has also been suggested that members of the county council's library service should speak to Grassington residents to find out what they want from their library.

Members of Grassington Parish Council say they are concerned that if the library is replaced with a non-permanent facility, it could easily be taken away should there be a need for savings in the library budget.

County councillor for Grassington, Shelagh Marshall told the Herald: "I recognise the problems of meeting the standards required today for public access and equally the facilities for employees.

"Having the Supermobile library in the National Park car park does offer more facilities for users and comfort for staff.

"Nevertheless there are those residents who live a long way from the car park and at present enjoy walking the short distance to the library near the town hall. Walking to the library in Grassington offers an opportunity to meet people and it just wouldn't be the same to have books delivered. I shall be asking for a meeting at County Hall to talk about the future of the library and to see how the needs of all residents can be met."