Fundraisers for a village library near Oxford are hosting a book fair this weekend.

It will take place on Saturday at the village centre in Kennington Road, from 10.30am to 1.30pm, featuring authors included Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Korky Paul and Sylvia Vetta.

For the past 10 years Friends of Kennington Library have been raising about £3,000 a year to pay for part-time staff to run the library.

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The library is also run with the help of volunteers.

Now some of those running the Friends group are looking to retire and volunteers are needed to replace them.

(Image: Sylvia Vetta) Local author Sylvia Vetta, one of the leaders of Friends of Kennington Library, said: "To remain open, the Friends have to contribute towards the library manager‘s salary and provide volunteers for busy times to help her.

"We also have to fund all the free children’s and adult events. It was easier when we had to raise £3,000 but now it is £5,000.

"I’ve organised our fundraising for 14 years and want to retire next year, so the success of this event is important.

"I think the authors and artists could be persuaded to organise it themselves in future  years."

Ms Vetta, a former antiques dealer, has written several books including Current of Death, a murder mystery set in Kennington, and the iconic Castaways trilogy, a series of Oxford Times interviews with the great and the good.

The Friends group stepped in when the county council withdrew funding from some library locations in the county.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.