Monday, 20 October 2025, 13:18
Around thirty residents in Chilches on the eastern Costa del Sol took to the streets on Friday 17 October in protest against the closure of the village’s library a year ago,
With placards bearing messages such as ‘We want to read’, ‘Reading is culture’, ‘Reading is growing’ the protesters gathered outside the library building which closed due to a lack of staff.
The residents, brought together by the Asociación Pueblo de Benajarafe y Chilches, called on Vélez-Málaga town hall, to provide the necessary and stable staff so that the library can remain open all year round. “The service is very intermittent and it is only provided by caretakers, who cannot lend books,” said Olga Rodríguez, spokesperson for the association.
She went on to say that while money is being spent in other areas of the municipality, which includes Vélez-Málaga, Torre del Mar, Benajarafe, Caleta de Vélez and Triana, “Chilches has no public transport, no library service, the iconic old train station is in ruins and no one is losing any sleep over the school.”
Rodríguez explained to SUR that the problem of intermittent closures is also occurring at the Benajarafe library, so they are planning a demonstration there as well in the coming weeks. The three PSOE councillors in the opposition also took part in Friday’s protest. Their spokesperson, Víctor González, said that “access to culture and reading is a right that we must guarantee and that must take precedence over the municipal government’s lack of management”.
Vélez-Málaga town hall sources have told SUR that in recent months work has been carried out to improve the facilities of the libraries in Chilches and Triana and that they are finalising the administrative process to provide permanent staff for these facilities: “The caretakers can open and close the libraries, but they cannot lend books. These positions have been advertised and are about to be filled and once they are, the libraries will be opened. The closure is temporary.”