Public libraries all over the country are coming under the knife and the Anchorage public library is no exception. Mayor Dan Sullivan is proposing that the library cut jobs and hours. That has angered local book lovers who showed up for the library's annual book sale.

About $25 thousand generated from the book sale will go into the 2009 budget, so it will not really help the 2010 budget.

"The library is important to a lot of people, unfortunately they are not the most vocal all the time," said the library's Community Relations Coordinator, Toni McPherson.

But the jam packed book sale said it all. "We were a little late; we were really worried, that of course we haven't been to one in a long time

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what it would be like," said library user, Denise Johnson. However, Denise Johnson ended up with a box full of her favorites, Christian mysteries and heaps of children books for the kids. Johnson says the low prices were a definite draw but she also wanted to show support in the face of proposed cuts. "It's a concern to me and it was a concern to me when I was a university student and they cut hours back then. It really was tight and we need this source as much as need the source at the school," said Johnson.

Some of Mayor Sullivan's proposed budget cuts for libraries and positions include a 24-hour work week for the Dimond branch, a 32-hour work week for Girdwood, Muldoon, Chugiak and Eagle River branches with about a dozen layoffs.

Changes the library says it cannot recover from. "The first year that Mayor Begich was in, they cut 23 jobs, very few of those came back," said McPherson. McPherson says these are changes proposed at a time when people need their library more than ever. "You come here on a week day and we have chairs all over the library that are filled with people to use the wireless here because they can't afford it at home anymore or they don't have computers," said McPherson.

The book sale will continue tomorrow, Sunday, November 8th, at the Loussac Library from 12 pm to 4 pm. The library also invites the public to a town hall meeting Tuesday, November 10th, from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm at the Loussac Library.

To contact the Newsroom, call 907-274-1111.

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