COUNCILLORS have made a commitment to fight "tooth and nail" to keep Medway's libraries open. A meeting of the council cabinet pledged not to close any of the 13 community libraries in the area unless they could be moved to improved buildings.

The pledge came at a cabinet meeting last night after the council had dismissed the possible closure of some libraries as part of the Best Value Policy.

A total of £118,000 was spent on libraries in this financial budget, with another £300,000 earmarked in the coming budget and a further £294,000 to come the following year.

Cllr Howard Doe, the cabinet member for health and community services, said: "None of my colleagues has suggested closing any libraries and if they do I will fight them tooth and nail.

"We are going to step up the investment in libraries, talking the balancing of the budget into account and not merely improving one front line service at the expense of another."

A new super library in Chatham was also discussed, relocating the present building that suffered from leaks this weekend. Cllr Les Wicks, cabinet member for leisure, culture and countryside, said: "I want a super library in Chatham, and I would like it to be a much more friendly environment. I even want it to have coffee bars, just like the best bookshops, and to have all the best technological libraries and fit in with the Chatham Vision."