I am one of those who would be devastated if the Brighton History Centre were to close (The Argus, December 15).

I spent a decade in its forerunner, the old reference library, researching material for The Encyclopaedia Of Brighton and two football books, Seagulls! and Albion A-Z. I had good access to a wealth of documents, books and newspapers and the assistance of specialist staff.

Since the advent of the History Centre, those resources have improved further.

Now it is proposed to axe those staff posts. Much mat-erial will, no doubt, be put into remote storage and we will see a dramatic decline. Under those conditions the books mentioned above simply would not have been written.

If much of the material would be better off at the proposed record office at Falmer then at least wait until that building opens, otherwise those researchers who do persevere will be left with third-class facilities akin to those library users endured at Vantage Point before the Jubilee Library opened.

I urge all those who value the Brighton History Centre to write to or email Councillor David Smith, the cabinet member for culture, recreation and tourism.

Next May, the city libraries will be publishing The New Encyclopaedia Of Brighton. That would not be possible without my original work, which in turn would not have been possible without the facilities described above.

I would willingly donate my royalties from the sale of this new book to a fund to keep the Brighton History Centre open.

Will the council do the same with its surplus from the book to retain this much-valued resource?

Tim Carder
Surrenden Road, Brighton