24-Hour Read-In Protests Cuts to NYC Libraries

A 24-hour stream of sentences and stories, spanning the canon from George Eliot to "Gossip Girl," flowed from dozens of book-loving New Yorkers this weekend who were concerned about austere budget cuts to libraries proposed by City Hall.

Not typically ones to raise their voices, librarians staged an overnight read-in on the steps of the Brooklyn Public Library on Grand Army Plaza to criticize the city's plan to close 40 branches by month's end, and to reduce hours and employees at those that remain. The event's slogan: "We Will Not Be Shushed." "In the Great Depression, the New York public libraries were kept open seven days a week," said Aliqae Geraci, a librarian in Queens and a coordinator of the event. "It is a huge support system for the unemployed and the transient."