Supporters of neighborhood branches of the Carnegie Library rallied yesterday in Oakland, greeting board members as they arrived for a 4 p.m. meeting with pleas and signs.

The board was expected to vote on possible closings but deferred public comment until this morning, when the library administration will hold a news conference at 11 a.m. at the main branch in Oakland to announce its plan to deal with funding shortfalls.

The board learned last month that the Allegheny Regional Asset District plans to freeze its funding at its 2009 level. The library had campaigned for an increase of nearly $1.8 million in its $17.6 million grant in an effort to stave off potential cuts in operating hours and services and or perhaps even branch closings.

State budget cuts that could reduce library funding by as much as 50 percent, so RAD funding became even more critical.

About 35 residents from Beechview, Carrick, Lawrenceville and Hazelwood occupied the corner of Fifth Avenue and Craig Street yesterday, each making the case for the viability of their neighborhood's library.

Everyone brought to the rally the same message: The branches on the cutting block are more than libraries; they are hubs in neighborhoods that have lost pools, schools and other services people choose neighborhoods for.

School librarians are also alarmed that cuts in state funding would mean loss of a 45-database collection, the Pennsylvania Online World of Electronic Resources, that students can access to study art, music, literature and other topics. It serves some 3,000 school libraries, public and special libraries and intermediate units.

The city of Pittsburgh budgets $40,000 a year to the library system. Mayoral candidate Kevin Acklin said it's time the city updates its contribution. "Cleveland spends seven times as much," he said. "It wouldn't be so bad if these branches weren't such community centers."

Mr. Acklin said he proposes an alternate city budget that would find "upwards of a million" in funds for libraries.

Lawrenceville United's executive director, Tony Ceoffe, said the neighborhood "will push back. We have been having meetings, and lots of people are asking, 'How can we help raise money?' "

Sarah Martin, a Hazelwood resident, said her neighborhood "has been devastated by losses of businesses, jobs and schools. Our branch is the hub of our community. If it goes, what's left?"

"You can only strip so much away from a neighborhood before it's a place no one wants to be in," said Ron Baraff, of Breechview, who brought his children to the rally.

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