Ceredigion County Council has announced that “all council libraries” are at risk of relocation as part of library services budget cuts.

Aberystwyth Public Library will be considered as part of cuts that the County Council hopes will save at least £117,000.

The plans are for libraries to be relocated into shared council buildings. Aberystwyth Public Library is currently housed in the Old Town Hall Canolfan Alun R. Edwards on Queen’s Square, which was converted into a library in 2010.

Aberystwyth Town Councillor Mair Benjamin said: “It’s farcical. Our town hall was beautiful, we had portraits up the staircase, a mayoral room, and a chamber for international dignitaries.

“We were quite literally thrown out on the street, more or less overnight, so the county council could put the library there.

“We’re now paying out money for offices on Baker Street, and they want to move the library again out of the town hall. Where are they going to move it to? That building belongs to the public.

“It makes me laugh. It will impact older people in the community, who use the library to access newspapers and the IT facilities.”

The county council’s budget was approved on 29 February and will include scrapping a school library service and halving the number of mobile library vans, saving £70,000 and £47,000 respectively.

A report said the plan to re-locate libraries would “free up space” and would provide a “continued sustainable library provision with reduced costs.”

A Ceredigion County Council (CCC) spokesperson said: “As part of the library service review, all council libraries are under consideration.”

Aber Town Cllr Emlyn Jones said “everything was on the table” due to the “impossible” situation the CCC is in, but that the town hall should remain a “civic building that serves the town”.

However, CCC leader Alun Williams contradicted both Cllr Jones and the CCC spokesperson by stating: “ I can assure you there is absolutely no intention to move Aberystwyth’s excellent Town Library as part of the review of library services.”

This comes as Lampeter Library is earmarked for relocation out of its purpose-built facility of less than 30 years and “halved in size”, according to Lampeter County Cllr Ann Bowen Morgan, to fit into the council’s Wellbeing Centre.

She said: “This is one thing I fought against from the beginning. We’re not happy at all with the idea, people have contacted me and there are two petitions to fight the decision.”