LAVALE — The Allegany County Library System is considering closing branches in a cost-cutting move.
Three branches are up for potential closure — Westernport Library, George’s Creek Library in Lonaconing and Washington Street Library in Cumberland, officials said. The library system also operates branches in South Cumberland, LaVale and Frostburg.
The financial strain comes after a 10% reduction to the library system’s budget.
The library system formed an advisory committee comprised of board and community members several months ago to find areas where money could be saved.
After a monthly Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday afternoon, the committee came to a recommendation of potentially closing two branches in order to best serve the interests of the public and their use of the library system’s services.
“No one wants to close a library,” said Ashley Swinford, the library system’s director of marketing and outreach.
Swinford said no decisions have been made, but a rough draft of a budget plan doesn’t include cutting hours at any of the branches.
Members of the advisory committee emphasized at the meeting that the closure of a branch would not result in a complete termination of library services to the community.
This could include pop-up libraries, book deliveries and activities “geared toward specified needs.”
“There’s no way to sustain six branches with population declining and income declining,” said Renee Kniseley, chair of the advisory committee and president of the library’s Board of Trustees.
The library system collected usage data and statistics from each branch in an effort to affect the least amount of people, officials said.
Georges Creek residents have voiced their disapproval of the potential closures, with Gail Hershman, of Westernport, calling it a “travesty” in a letter to the editor published in the Times-News.
“We would have farther to travel to make a library more accessible to us,” Hershman wrote.
Citing past school closures and industry shutdown in the area, Hershman said, “Do we really deserve another rug pulled from under us?”
A decision on closures may come as early as May.
John Taube, director of the library system, said that time of year is typically the timeframe when the library system receives notice of its yearly budget allocation from the county.
It won’t be until the June Board of Trustees meeting that a final decision could be made.
“We have plenty of time and plenty of opportunities for feedback,” he said at the Wednesday meeting.
Although branches may close, Swinford said the future of the libraries may look different, but won’t be worse.
“You don’t have to have a building to build communities,” she said.
The next board meeting is Feb. 11 at Westernport Library.