In an unusual protest that will include storytelling to children, librarians will be at Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's official residence on Sunday to protest against planned funding cuts to libraries.
The protest will begin at 11 a.m. outside the mayor's home in Hancock Park.
Storytelling will be provided by librarians to children on the grass outside the home to protest the mayor's planned firing of more than 160 library employees, including 20 librarians, on July 1, and his plans to fire dozens more and force further reductions in library services, according to organizers.
To close a massive budget deficit, Villaraigosa has proposed cutting at least 4,000 city jobs, with the first 1,000 job cuts to go into effect July 1.
"If the mayor is successful in his effort to slash the library budget, we will have hardly any library services available in any community," said Roy Stone, president of the Librarians' Guild, AFSCME Local 2626. "The mayor will single-handedly be the most destructive force in the history of the Los Angeles Public Library System."
City officials said the cuts are necessary to close a projected half- billion-dollar budget deficit.
