Three months ago we were bragging about how the Union County Carnegie Library had been named “America’s Best Small Library.”

Because of budget cuts, however, few people may get the opportunity to visit the library, much less use its services.

Reductions in state aid are expected to create an $80,000 deficit for the library this year. Last week, librarian Nancy Rosenwald asked Union County Council to add an additional 2 mills of tax for the library and allow the county to over the facility’s maintenance costs, which total about $38,000 a year. She said expected state funding cuts will require an extra $65,000 reduction in the library’s budget, primarily in personnel costs.

To achieve such a reduction and retain staff, the library’s operating hours will have to be cut back from 54 per week to 30. This means drastic reductions in the hours the library would be open each day. If the library operates on a seven-day schedule, it would be open 4 1/2 hours a day; on a six-day schedule, 5 hours a day; and on a five-day schedule, 6 hours a day.

The library’s current 54-hour schedule is already inadequate to meet the demand for its service, Mrs. Rosenwald said. More and more children and teen-agers visit the library as well as adults, who use its resources in today’s uncertain economy to find jobs, job training programs and information on changing careers.

The public library plays an essential role in the life of a community. Without it, we all suffer.

County council should take whatever steps are necessary to keep “America’s Best Small Library” operating at a level which benefits the most citizens.