Proposals to close library buildings across England are being explored by a government advisory body even though more than 100 buildings are estimated to have been lost in the past two years, The Times has learnt.

Two years ago a damning report by the Commons Select Committee for Culture condemned the shabby and neglected public library services, with their backlog of building repairs and refurbishments. MPs had urged the Government to give libraries access to lottery money, calculating that up to two thirds of a billion pounds would be needed to wipe out the backlog of repairs.

Campaigners, who are already outraged that libraries are being turned into centres for fitness classes and Pilates, were shocked to discover yesterday that the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), the government agency in charge of the sector, is addressing the problem by examining whether there are too many library buildings.

Roy Clare, the chief executive of the MLA, told The Times: “We are spending more than we should on the buildings’ infrastructure . . . library buildings are a nightmare. No ward councillor wants to see a library building close but the MLA must come up with the evidence to provide a third-party review.”

Applauding his local library in Colchester for introducing services such as a café, even though he acknowledged that there was one 100 yards away, Mr Clare added: “A number of councillors have put it to me that they have got more buildings than they need . . . a better service could be provided with fewer buildings and more attention to book stocks and what libraries can do. These are the kind of incentives we should be providing.”

Although the select committee said that well-stocked shelves, rather than IT terminals, were the bedrock of the future of libraries, the MLA is to award up to £2 million from the Big Lottery Fund to 58 library authorities “to enhance public libraries as venues for a diverse range of community activities”.

The MLA admitted to The Times that none of the lottery cash was earmarked for books.

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