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Then in 1966 - A village public library is a window on the world, through which it views the past the present and the future. So claimed Mrs Lorna Paulin, the first woman president of the Library Association when she opened a new branch library at Nunthorpe.
 
Miss Paulin stressed the important role the £16,350 library would play in the village community life. It will stock 9,000 books, and a special feature will be the children’s section, which can be closed off from the main building by a folding screen to form a room for library lessons or story hours. Alternatively, the room can be used for evening meetings.
 
The original library was started in a converted room with 600 books. The present site at the corner of The Crescent was obtained in 1963.
 
Now in 1998 - Nunthorpe library is to close! Redcar and Cleveland councillors have agreed a package of cost cutting measures which include the closure of Nunthorpe Library at a saving of £75,000.
 
The news was greeted with fury by many local residents and a petition of 1,139 names collected in three working days detailing ten points of objection to the closure was handed in at Eston Town Hall. The councillors symphathise, but voted 15-4 for closure claiming it was the only option for a leisure and libraries department faced with saving £500,000 in the coming financial year.
 
The protests however continued and a temporary compromise has been agreed that literally splits the Nunthorpe community in two. Those living east of the railway line, in Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council territory, will continue to receive the library service free for the time being. Library users living west of the boundary have each agreed to contribute £10 towards its upkeep. Whether this is an annual subsidy remains to be seen. Our spies suggest the money is likely to run out by the end of June, unless more people start contributing their tenners.