The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library could be forced to lay off workers, reduce hours and close branches to meet a $7 million shortfall in 2011, the board of trustees was told Wednesday.

Most of the shortfall comes from the county government’s announced reduction last month of $4.6 million, which would drop its current library commitment by 21 percent, from $22.1 million this year to $17.5 million in 2011.

Other funding gaps would bring the system’s total revenue deficit to nearly $7 million, or 25 percent of the $27.5 million budget for 2010, warned Bridget Quinn-Carey, the library’s director.

“We do have a consolidated time frame, but we are trying to stay as optimistic as possible,” Quinn-Carey said after the meeting.

The gap estimate so far would be equivalent to the loss of 145 full-time employees, she said, illustrating the magnitude of staff reductions required to make up for the budget shortfall.

Quinn-Carey’s presentation was the first chance for the 15 trustees to consider the scope of the problem and begin strategizing on how to move forward. She laid out a broad array of options for the trustees to consider and suggested they also look at long-term solutions sooner than had been planned to consolidate and stabilize the library system, a view several other trustees shared.

“I see where our long-term strategy is looking at how we can make sure we don’t keep doing this every five years, every two years. This is a horrible position to be in, and it doesn’t enable us to plan effectively,” Quinn-Carey said.

Sharon Thomas, chairwoman of the

board of trustees, said the budget shortfall couldn’t help but remind her of the severe cuts forced in 2005, when 15 libraries were closed countywide, including seven in Buffalo.

“That’s why it is so important that we be very clear about how we move ahead,” Thomas said. “We have got to get concrete very, very fast. I think that [the trustees] gave the staff some direction, and we’ll be meeting with ACT [the Association of Contracting Library Trustees].” The association represents 22 other county library boards.

The bulk of the cuts are the result of County Executive Chris Collins’ directive last month to all departments to cut budgets by 20 percent. Collins will present his county budget to the Legislature by Oct. 15, but actual funding for the library won’t be known until November or December, Quinn-Carey said.

Among the wide range of possibilities Quinn-Carey presented for discussion were accelerating the shift of purchases to online materials over more costly print, which she acknowledged is controversial; reducing staff hours, including leaving some desks unmanned for periods of time; sharing staff between branches and not anchoring books at branches to save handling and shipping costs.

The more draconian cuts, she said, would result in steep layoffs, shuttered branches and reduced hours.

Quinn-Carey emphasized to the trustees that all the ideas being presented were for discussion, and to show how serious the situation for the library has become after the county announced its reduction.

msommer@buffnews.comnull