There was no loud chanting or people holding signs at this demonstration -- just a good book. As lawmakers bicker over how to balance Ohio's state budget for the next two years, supporters of the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library system staged a "Read-In" -- to show their displeasure over additional cuts in library funding -- now to almost 50-percent.
Library Director James Wilkins says the latest proposal will cut his system by about two-million dollars next year -- which he says will almost certainly mean significant cuts in services and staffing.
Directors say the cuts come at a time when library usage is actually up by about 30-percent in just the last six months -- from people borrowing books and other items, to accessing the internet from the library's "tech center" -- programs staff admit will be impacted by the proposed cuts.
While supporters argue lawmakers should be looking for other areas to make up the state's projected three-point-two billion dollar shortfall, directors admit there may not be much anyone can do at this point.
And while the spending cuts will have an impact -- the systems in both Trumbull and Mahoning Counties also receive some funding help from local taxpayers --- in the form of levies.
That's something most libraries around the state do not have -- including half-a-dozen independent libraries in places like Niles, Newton Falls and Kinsman.
Directors say those libraries could face being closed completely -- they simply won't have enough money to stay open.
