When she heard that the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh had voted to close her branch library, Anna Loney became a grass-roots activist.

"When they said my neighborhood library was closing I said, 'How can I tell my children,' " she said. "For their sake alone, I simply couldn't look at them and tell them the library was closing."

And as of yesterday afternoon, she probably won't have to deliver the bad news to 8-year-old Delia and 5-year-old Judd -- at least not this year.

Pittsburgh City Council yesterday gave its unanimous, initial approval to a transfer of $600,000 to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, a first step in avoiding, through next year, the closure of the Lawrenceville, Hazelwood, Beechview and West End branches and the merger of the Carrick and Knoxville branches.

"What this does is to give us a way to go to the board of trustees in December and recommend a deferral" of the branch changes, said libraries Director Barbara Mistick, shortly after the council vote.

If the city or some other source comes through with another $600,000 next year, that would close the system's $1.2 million gap for next year, she said.

For much of the last month, a group of volunteers has held rallies, created signs and petitions and even sold hot chocolate to raise money and draw attention to their cause.

"Obviously we're delighted," said Gloria Forouzan of Lawrenceville, who -- like Ms. Loney -- has spoken at rallies to keep the branch libraries open. "But I also realize this is just one step. We have a lot of work ahead of us in the new year."

The $600,000 comes from the account from which the city pays for vehicle fuel, which has a surplus because fuel prices are lower than the city expected when it wrote its 2009 budget.

"The funds we're talking about today are already there. They're in the account," said Council President Doug Shields, who proposed the measure.

"I believe this stopgap funding measure is crucial," said state Rep. Chelsa Wagner. She added that a long-term solution may come if the General Assembly dedicates 1 percent of Rivers Casino table games revenue to libraries.

Dr. Mistick said she's concerned that gambling money might be hard to predict, and the city allocation will "give some time to get some clarity on what 1 percent means."

Mr. Shields said an emerging 2010 budget for the city could include a transfer of some city capital funding to the libraries. The city had been contributing $40,000 a year to the library, the same amount it did in 1895.

It is the lack of resolution on long-term funding that is keeping community members anxious and active. More rallies and meetings are planned, including one at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Squirrel Hill branch.

"I don't want to be like 'Wow, we won, it's over,' because it doesn't seem like it's over yet," said Tess McShane, creator of the "Save the Pittsburgh Libraries" Facebook group. "It doesn't help anybody if two years from now we need to go back and this whole thing is rehashed again."

Indeed, Lou Testoni, the library board's finance chair, said that $600,000 from the city, along with measures the library system is taking internally and the hoped-for additional allocation in the city's 2010 budget, would "barely get us through the year," possibly with reduced hours at some of the branches.

A final council vote on the allocation could occur next Tuesday. The library trustees could vote on Dec. 14 to defer their prior decision on the branch closures, the merger and the move of the Mount Washington branch from Grandview Avenue to Virginia Avenue.

If nothing else, said Ms. McShane, the fight to keep the library branches open has fueled civic engagement and united people from disparate city neighborhoods.

"I think every time something like this comes up there's good and bad," she said. "Obviously it's a bad situation, but the good part is that you realize that people still care and they're willing to fight for things."

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