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GARNER, N.C. – As Wake County braces for more budget cuts, one proposal would close the Southeast Regional Library in Garner. But many in the community have plans to fight for it.

Sonya Dwyer and her son visit the Southeast Regional Library two or three times a week to participate in story time and other activities. She was shocked when she heard the county was considering closing the branch.

"It's crucial," Dwyer said. "There are no bookstores nearby. The closest library would probably be the small branch in Fuquay or the Cameron Village library."

She said that her family has the ability to drive to those locations, but she knows other friends and people in the community who would not have access to a library if the Garner branch closed.

Garner Mayor Ronnie Williams said community groups, like churches and book clubs, are getting involved. A Facebook group called Save Garner's Library has more than 1,200 members and online petitions are being circulated.

Williams said the library is sometimes the only way some members of the community can access the Internet.

"This is a mainstay in Garner," he said. "It's a place that people go to learn and get education, and we don't need to do anything to impede that."

Michael Wasilick, the library administration's assistant director, used to work at the Garner library, so he knows what it means to the community. But he stressed that talks about the closure are only a proposal at this point in time. The department was asked to cut seven percent of its budget. And Wasilick said closing Southeast Regional would save the most money and impact the fewest citizens in the county.

"We've looked at cuts to our materials budget," he said. "We've looked at hour reductions. And of course, we're looking at branch closings as one of the last options. But to find $1.1 million, it's difficult to do that with our budget without at least looking at branch closings."

Dwyer said she understands that budget cuts need to be made, but she would like to see it spread across the county.

"I hope that if they have to do something they would cut library hours, maybe consider stopping Sunday hours, but not just at this branch but at all the branches," she said.

Wasilick said that reducing hours at all the branches runs the risk of not serving the public in those areas who can't get to the library except after work and on weekends. But he hopes the county will be able to find a way to work with the budget constraints and keep the libraries open.