A decision to sell a historic community library building has been formally challenged by opposition councillors.
The 1900-built Sparkhill council building on Stratford Road, Sparkhill, has been listed by Labour-run as surplus to requirements and is to be put on up for auction next year.
But opposition Lib Dem councillors say that the sale threatens the future of Sparkhill Library which has occupied the building since the 1920s.
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The fear that a ten-year leaseback deal for the part of the historic building used by the library does not provide long-term security.
The building, which until recently also housed a neighbourhood office, is the under the authority's business transformation project.
But Lib Dems have issued a formal challenge which will be defended by council deputy leader Ian Ward and Labour cabinet member for development Tahir Ali at a governance and resources scrutiny committee hearing on Friday.
Coun Jerry Evans (Lib Dem Springfield) said there were two causes for concern, first the way the decision was made and secondly the implications for the library's future.
"They were talking about the closure of a community facility without any consultation with the community whatsoever," he said.
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"It subsequently emerged that they had only safeguarded the library on a leaseback which would not last more than ten years.
"We want to see a secure and permanent library, not one which is going to be closed in the not too distant future."
The building, which boasts an impressive clock tower, is surprisingly not statutory listed by English Heritage but has been placed on the council's own list of historic buildings at Grade A.
According to local historian William Dargue: "Designed by Arthur Harrison in typical Birmingham red-brick and terracotta, it has an imposing clock tower in Aston Hall style."
Yardley Council met in the building until the district joined Birmingham in 1912. The council chamber and meeting rooms were then converted into the public library which opened in 1923.