I write from the mezzanine floor computer room of the refurbished and upgraded Hove Library and it is wonderful.

It comes as a big surprise to find the area which campaigners were most concerned about is the greatest triumph.

The music room has had a stud wall removed and the green paintwork now complements the darkly-honeyed woodwork in a new way.

The removal of the central desk invites entry to the perimeter rooms. It is wonderful. The original design and architecture of Hove Library is so lovely.

Downstairs, the woodwork, painted over in the Seventies, I'm told, is starkly white against the new green paintwork.

It is a very different aesthetic and does not serve this shade of green as well. I long to strip the windows back to the wood, for the beauty of this green needs it.

The disabled toilet is fabulous. The lift is a pain to use (one has to keep buttons depressed for a long time) but it is not as intrusive as had been feared and fits well in its slot beside the stairs. And there is more floor space than any wheelchair could ever need, which I hope one day will be filled with books. There is room for more books.

Campaigners worked very hard to save Hove Library, first from permanent removal to Hove Town Hall and, after that battle, to ensure the reference library would remain upstairs.

The input of several members of the public and The Friends Of Hove Library - so resented at the time - is visible.

I hope Brighton and Hove City Council now sees it as having been worth all the battles.

-Valerie Paynter, saveHOVE, POB 521, Hove BN3 6HY 01273 777460