FRANKLIN, Mass. -- The state budget crisis is putting the squeeze on a piece of Bay State history.

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Budget Hits The Books

NewsCenter 5's Amalia Barreda reported that the Franklin Pubic Library is one of the nation's oldest. It has survived the financial troubles brought on by six wars -- even the depression -- but the current fiscal crisis may be the death knell.

The Franklin Public Library enjoys an elegant setting -- proudly featured are the 116 volumes donated by Benjamin Franklin to start the first public library in the country.

More than two centuries after its birth, the monument to literacy has already suffered from cuts in local aid. Now, it may be forced to open only one day a week or shut down completely.

"We've cut the municipal workforce across the board. We are running out of places to look. We can't cut public safety because the lives of the men and women who serve us are in danger," Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting said.

Officials said that the town has already laid off 23 percent of its staff. As money woes deepened, there were additional cuts in police and fire departments. The library's rich history has not been enough to save it from the budget ax.

Students are among the library's many patrons.

"A library is a library. The town depends on it in more ways than you think," Dean College student Hilary Huling said.

"I am disappointed that it is going to be shut down. I come here at least once a week for studying, and the resources are great here," high school student Chris Reynolds said.

Franklin Library employee Vicki Buchanio, who has worked at the library for 20 years, said that the library has been part of her life since childhood.

"I feel that the library is the heart and soul of the town. I am not sure what the town is anymore without its library and where people will go," she said.

Officials are holding their breath until Wednesday when the Legislature is scheduled to decide how much deeper the budget cuts will go.