FOR once I agree with Hugh Bayley, MP, when he says (Evening Press, May 24) that the Minster library "isn't just an archive of precious old books and manuscripts" but "also a modern working library of national importance".

As an occasional user of York Minster Library, I have come to appreciate the variety of religious and theological works in this magnificent collection, not to mention the everyday items.

How can anyone contemplate closing this library, and, what is worse, dispersing the collection which is, in a sense, the property, not of the Dean and Chapter, but of those who built it?

I once asked Bernard Barr, the previous Minster librarian, what his purpose was when he was buying books which seemed to have, superficially at least, no connection with the present contents of the library. He explained that as the custodian of the Minster library he had a duty to ensure that 100 years from now, people would be able to see that someone had done something to guarantee the library had continued to grow.

Canon Jonathan Draper refers to the books in the Minster library as "material which is available elsewhere". What is available elsewhere is not always so accessible, unless you happen to live in the vicinity of the British Library.

Furthermore, the University of York library has for years deliberately not acquired works which are available in the Minster library, even when offered as gifts. Thus the closure will leave a gaping hole in library provision for the university. What has been, in effect, an auxiliary facility for students and staff will have vanished.

To future generations the closure of York Minster library will rank as a major act of cultural vandalism.

David A Reibel,

Elmfield Terrace, York.

Updated: 10:43 Monday, June 02, 2003