Library board to discuss closings

The library’s board of trustees has called a special meeting for 3 p.m. today to take another look at next year’s finances. The board voted in April to approve branch closures and layoffs after three months of hearings and community meetings. That process, which included 14 public meetings and an online chat, has been criticized as too hurried to seriously consider the impact of permanently shutting the libraries.

“We are listening to the community and their concerns regarding the process, and believe the board of trustees will be taking those into consideration,’’ said Dot Joyce, spokeswoman for Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

The mayor’s office declined to go into further detail and stopped short of saying the closures and layoffs would be averted. Officials have stressed, however, that some of Menino’s concerns stem from questions about what would happen to some of the buildings when the libraries closed at the end of the summer and in the fall.

“The mayor has made it very clear he does not want to see abandoned buildings in our neighborhoods,’’ Joyce said. “I think he would like to see a reuse of the buildings in line with what the community needs and wants.’’

This afternoon’s meeting at the main library in Copley Square comes less than 24 hours before the Menino administration is expected to submit a revised budget to the City Council, where opposition to the library closures has been mounting.

“The decision was hasty and it was rushed,’’ said Council President Michael P. Ross. “It is clear to me it needs to be reconsidered.’’

The council, emboldened by its recent stand that ultimately resolved the firefighters contract dispute, is pressuring the Menino administration to curb cuts at the library and a proposal to lay off more than 80 custodians in the school department. The council does not have the explicit power to add money to keep libraries open or reduce layoffs, but the mayor needs a majority of seven votes to approve his budget.

“I think the administration understands clearly,’’ Ross said, “from discussions directly with city councilors to the mayor . . . that they need to fix the library situation and they need to fix the custodian situation.’’

The union that represents library assistants, custodians, and clerical and maintenance workers is calling for a task force made up of employees and community groups to study the issue over the next 12 to 18 months and “create a sustainable plan,’’ said Elissa Cadillic, president of AFSCME 1526, which is slated to lose up to 70 of its 270 members to layoffs.

In April, trustees approved a budget that would shutter branch libraries in four corners of the city: Faneuil in Brighton’s Oak Square, Lower Mills in Dorchester, Orient Heights in East Boston, and Washington Village in South Boston’s Old Colony Housing Development.

The plan, which plugged a $3.3 million funding gap, would leave the Boston Public Library with a network of 23 locations. But it would eliminate 21 jobs in the branches and slash 68 of the 305 jobs at the main library in Copley Square.

Most of the library’s money comes from the city, but other funding sources play a vital role. Two years ago, the state gave the library $8.9 million, which accounted for almost 20 percent of its budget. But state funding has been slashed to $2.4 million next year.

The city has also cut money, but not as precipitously as the state. This year the mayor level-funded the library when other city departments faced reductions.

Despite the state’s cuts, however, legislators lashed out at the plan to close libraries and lay off staff. Several members of the Boston delegation pushed punitive budget amendments through both the houses of the Legislature that would strip the library of its remaining $2.4 million in state funding if it shutters a branch or lays off staff.

The amendments, which did not earmark additional money for the library, remain in conference committee, where legislative leaders are working on the final details before sending the budget to Governor Patrick.

“The governor will review the amendments if and when they reach his desk,’’ said Juan Martinez, the governor’s press secretary.

When library administrators testified before the City Council, Councilor Felix G. Arroyo pushed the board of trustees to meet again to discuss the possibility of keeping branches open if the state provides more money. Some see that as the impetus for today’s meeting.

“I think that public pressure and the questioning session at the City Council has made the trustees realize they do have to make a public statement on this,’’ said David J. Vieira, president of City-Wide Friends of the Boston Public Library.

But others are more optimistic about the meeting.

“I’m hoping that they have reconsidered and that there will be some good news,’’ said Sheila O’Flaherty, president of Friends of the Lower Mills Library.