A BORDERS library may be forced to close unless a modest request for financial support is agreed this week.

When members of Lauder Common Good Fund Sub-committee meet on Thursday (September 12) they will consider a request for £718.93 from Lauderdale Library.

The funds are needed to cover the costs of an electricity bill.

Lauderdale Library is a voluntary organisation formed in 2002 following a survey of Lauderdale residents on local service provision.

It operates out of The Old Jail which is located in Lauder Town Hall and is run by a team of 10 volunteers.

The library draws borrowers from Oxton, Lauder and Blainslie and the surrounding areas.

Each year the library also becomes Santa’s Grotto and in the summer of 2023 it hosted a wedding ceremony for the first time.

A report with the request states: “An award of £718.93 would allow pending electricity costs to be covered while annual accounts (due Oct 2024) are prepared and a funding application is made to the CET fund for 2024/25.

“Should there be another shortfall in the funding available from the CET fund for 2024/25, SBC will be asked to cover the electricity costs incurred by the library operating out of the Old Jail.

“SBC currently covers this outlay for the other rooms in Lauder Town Hall. If this is unsuccessful the library will close by the end of 2024; it was set up on the premise that running costs would be covered from the Library/Ormiston Fund (now the CET).

“If this is no longer the case then closure is inevitable.”