A hornets' nest has been stirred up by the issue of Hove Library, a building which fosters intelligence and has inspired debate so even pro-closure councillors have cause for thanks.

The problem goes beyond books and the library to Hove itself. Since its merger in 1996 and consequent city status, Brighton and Hove City Council has had a very uneasy approach to Hove.

It has a pro-development agenda of modernisation, which may -- hypothetically - sit better with the bustle of Brighton.

But Hove's culture is more traditional, reflected in the hatred of the new Tesco, the King Alfred towers and now the library move.

Any big city needs different areas to create a sense of complex urban life. London has Canary Wharf but it also has Camden Town. London is happy to contain this variation and is a true city because of it.

Many of Brighton and Hove's councillors have a childish idea of what being a city means. They believe a uniform culture must be imposed on the whole, hence the desire for skyscrapers, supermarkets and storey shifting.

As a new building, Brighton Library will have a different flavour to Hove. While the facilities will be excellent, it can never match the atmosphere. Why destroy the spirit of something unique and complementary?

If the council won't sell the library building and cannot demolish it, then presumably a lift must be installed for any future use.

So why not keep it as a library? Unless the motive is a literal interpretation of modernisation which means "everything must go".

-Peter Poole, Hove