Without an approved plan to absorb a $6 million cut to its $30 million budget, the state public library system is stuck waiting for the results of ongoing negotiations and arbitration between the state and unions.

But if those negotiations do not bear fruit soon, the library system could potentially run out of money before the fiscal year ends next June 30, officials warn.

Having unsuccessfully pitched two different budget reduction plans to the state Board of Education, state library officials now say they are stuck cutting smaller expenditures, such as employee training programs and supply budgets. And some Neighbor Island libraries recently announced they would curtail hours due to staffing shortages and lack of money to replace employees with substitutes and temporary hires.

"We will be closely and anxiously watching the negotiations with the state. That is the essential linchpin of all our budget plans," said Richard Burns, state librarian. "There is no way to absorb a 20 percent budget reduction in a good way."

Keith Fujio, administrative services officer for the public library system, said the longer it takes to negotiate furloughs or other labor savings, the harder it will be to make up the budget shortfall.

"If it means going with a two-day furlough, that'll save us enough to meet our budget reduction. It all depends on when it gets implemented. If it gets implemented next month, October, it would be enough. But if it gets pushed back, we get less savings," Fujio said.

'AT A STALEMATE'

The best-case scenario for the system would have been for the state Board of Education to approve one of the two budget-cut plans, Fujio said. In July, officials presented the board with a plan to close five libraries in rural and Neighbor Island communities. After that failed, officials presented a new plan that would have led to the potential curtailing of hours and intermittent closures at some understaffed libraries.

Several board members, including those representing Neighbor Islands, opposed the plan, saying rural library branches are being targeted.

It's unlikely library officials will present a new budget reduction plan to the board. Instead, they are relying solely on labor savings to be negotiated. But if spending continues as it is, library officials said, the system will run out of money by May 2010.

"We're at a stalemate. It doesn't seem we can satisfy (the BOE) no matter what we come in with," Fujio said.

Libraries statewide are being asked to cut "here and there" to save as much as the system can until furloughs or other labor cost savings are hashed out, Fujio said. For instance, the system as a whole has cut back nearly $100,000 on supplies and equipment, zeroed out its travel budget of some $25,000 and cut its employee training budget by $50,000.

At Kapolei Library, branch manager Stacie Kanno said the library has cut back on nonessential services including offering its Passport Application Acceptance Service and children's story times.

"We are reducing the numbers of class visits that involve an actual librarian doing programming," Kanno said. "We're really now focusing on the core services. There are only so much funds to go around."

Kanno said the library is not using temporary hires as it used to, causing for smaller staffs and longer waits in line.

NO TEMPORARY HIRES

To save money, library officials say, they are no longer filling the estimated 73 vacant positions in the system with temporary hires, which they had done in the past. That has caused some libraries to be shorthanded and cut hours temporarily, Fujio said.

For instance, the Kapa'a Library, the third-busiest library on Kaua'i, starting this week and until the end of the month is cutting back its hours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays because of lack of staff, said branch manager Lani Kawahara.

The library has three full-time employees and one part-time. When one employee is out for any length of time, it will cause hours to be cut back, she said.

"We don't have the funds for temporary people anymore. We do have people who are trained to do the job, but we're unable to bring them," Kawahara said.

Kawahara said the most noticeable impact during the temporary cutback in hours will be in the evenings. Tuesday is the only day the library is open at night, but those hours will be cut during that two-week period in September.

"We're working it out so that we can remain open," she said.

The system also recently announced hours will be curtailed at Laupahoehoe Public & School Library on the Big Island for two days this month.

Garrett Toguchi, chairman of the state Board of Education, said while the board did not approve the library officials' plans to cut back on hours, it is still within the authority of the librarian to do so.

"Reducing hours is part his authority. What he cannot do, he cannot permanently close a library," Toguchi said.

Meanwhile, both the library system and the Friends of the Library of Hawai'i are conducting separate fund-raising campaigns intended to ensure that no library will be closed permanently because of projected budget shortfalls.

Fujio said the library system's campaign raised $10,000 within the first few days of the effort. The Friends of the Library of Hawaii is also keeping a running tally on its Web site, which showed $37,580 as of yesterday.