One of Lane Libraries most popular reading programs may not be around much longer. Reading and All that Jazz has been around for 13 summers, but the beat could soon stop.

State budget cuts could force the library system to eliminate programs like this and, more importantly, workers.

"It's one of the hardest things that most of us would probably have to do. We're at a point where we don't have options, so it has to happen," said Labe Library Public Relations Manager Carrie Mancuso.

Trustees voted on a plan to cut more than $2 million from the budget. Lane has branches in Oxford, Fairfield and Hamilton. It employs 123 workers, and 42, more than a third of the staff, will be laid off.

"It's a devastating cut to the libraries, but we're all kind of in the boat together that it's not easy and we want to weather the storm and we want to get through this in a way that we are still able to provide services to the public," said Mancuso.

Justyn Rampa an assistant circulation manager at the Hamilton branch has worked for Lane libraries for 12 years.

"We knew something was coming," Rampa said.

But he didn't think it would be this bad. Rampa said workers have been talking about how hard it would be to find a new job in this recession.

"It's just going to be ominous, grueling. Each person is going to find out individually. I mean there's nothing about that weekend going to be easy, for anybody," said Rampa.

He is one of 26 employees who work at the Hamilton library branch. Twelve of them will soon be out of a job.

Library officials plan to meet individually with every employee between August 28th and 30th. That's when some workers will learn their fate.

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