"It's kind of morbid, but that's what is going to happen if these cuts go through," Bill Wright, spokesman for the downtown library, said. "Most of the other libraries in the county are doing something, too. We all want to take one last push to get the word out."

Legislators have been debating the education budget since September but have yet to pass a spending plan, which would include funds for the state's libraries. Library officials said they've heard lawmakers are coming close to a decision.

The state has yet to apportion funds for education -- including funds for the state's libraries -- in its 2003-04 budget. Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell and the Republican-controlled Legislature are at odds over Rendell's property tax reform proposal, which has delayed the allotment of education funds.

Even after the standoff in Harrisburg is resolved, libraries in the county, like so many across the state, stand to lose about $1 million, or 50 percent of their state funding this year. State aid accounts for a significant portion of the libraries' total operating budgets.

In June, local library advocates traveled to Harrisburg to protest a 50 percent cut in state library funding in the upcoming state budget. Now, they're trying to gain support from the people the cuts will affect directly, Wright said.

"We're finalizing everything Monday, but you can count of seeing signs and people passing out literature about the problem," Wright said. "We're urging patrons to contact lawmakers in Harrisburg and demand that library funding be restored. We're doing everything we can."

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