It has been a splendid focal point for almost a century but now Hove library is at a crossroads. Should it be modernised, moved or closed?

It was built to last a lifetime and, in the elegant language of the time, help create a "wise, high-minded and healthy community."

In the early days after its opening in 1908, the library in Church Road provided a quiet retreat for the good ladies of Hove and a place for their gentlemen friends to peruse the morning papers.

For its first 20 years there was even a roof garden where readers could puff softly on a cigarette as they read.

But while times may have changed, the library remains at the hub of life, despite having only one toilet and no air conditioning.

On a stuffy August afternoon in 2003 it was buzzing with activity.

Youngsters pored over books in the children's library, students browsed newspapers and pensioners used the IT room.

As well as the usual services, the library team organises book groups, holds exhibitions and displays local artists' work.

The noticeboards in the entrance are crammed with adverts for music lessons, yoga and language classes.

But the building's future as a library is now under threat.

Government regulations mean improvements must be made to meet guidelines which come in during April.

Fundamentally, the library must provide a disabled access lift to make its facilities accessible to everyone.

At present the IT room and first-floor magazines library can only be reached via a winding staircase.

Plans to install the lift, at a cost of £144,000, were approved two years ago but have since stalled.

Last year Brighton and Hove City Council agreed in principle to foot the bill. It now says it will look again at options for the building.

The options on the table include moving the library to part of Hove Town Hall.

But with the up-to-date library opening soon in Brighton and a gaping £17 million hole in the council's budget, the question being asked is whether the city can afford to keep it running.

Luke Parker, 27, is an English language teacher and goes to the library to plan lessons and borrow CDs.

Mr Parker, from Hanover, said: "This is a landmark. What would happen to it if the library was moved? It would probably be turned into another restaurant or sold off as part of a supermarket development.

"I use the library a couple of times a week. I think it is a very valuable resource in a beautiful building and I'd like it to stay where it is."

Pierce Moore, 39, from Hove, said: "The population which uses the library is generally elderly or not working and it gives them somewhere to go.

"It is very popular and I think the message to the council is to keep Hove library open and in its current location."

Joanne Young, 31, said: "In theory, I would agree with anything which would make the library better for the disabled. In England there are a lot of old buildings like this which don't have access.

"It is a lovely building. But if the public library isn't accessible to all the people who live near it, what's the point of having it?"

Ms Young, of Seven Dials, said Hove definitely needed a library of its own, no matter how impressive the new Brighton library promised to be.

A pensioner, who asked not to be named, said: "If the library moved to the town hall it wouldn't be too bad - people could still get there.

"But to move it any further away might create difficulties for others, especially the elderly or immobile."

The library was one of the many in Britain provided by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

It opened on its current site in July 1908 and was given a high accolade by the Countess of Jersey.

She was at the official opening, saying: "I am sure those who use this library, stocked with well-chosen and healthy books, would find it a storehouse of all that was good, that would help to build up a wise, high-minded and healthy community, which would promote the welfare of the borough and extend its influence far and wide."

For some visitors, such as pensioner Ronald Cartwright, from Hove, the library is a lifeline.

Mr Cartwright said: "I wouldn't like to see the library moved. It's a splendid building and full of history. People come here to keep up to date on what's going on, socialise or just to get out of the house.

"We also need libraries to encourage the younger generation to read."

Estate agent Simon Francis, of Clifford Dann, said the library would be worth at least £1 million if sold as a freehold.

Hove MP Ivor Caplin said: "If the building doesn't come up to modern standards an alternative has to be found. But a proper and sensible library facility must be available in the middle of Hove which can be fully accessible to disabled people."

A council spokesman said: "The idea is to radically improve Hove's library facilities, wherever they're provided, in the same way we've improved Hove Museum. The debate has nothing whatever to do with costs or saving money.

"There are parts of the current library which couldn't be accessed by disabled people even if we had a new lift. Hove Town Hall has been cited as an option but there are no hard and fast plans."

He said a report requested by culture councillor Sue John would go to the policy committee at the end of October.