RENO — Today, the Washoe County Library System’s Board of Trustees will decide what, if any, library closures will be necessary to satisfy Washoe County’s budget cuts, with a particular emphasis on the Sierra View branch in the Reno Town Mall.

Discussions at recent board meetings indicated that Sierra View and the downtown Reno branches would be the best targets of cuts, but library director Arnold Maurins said Tuesday the conversation seems to be leading away from downtown Reno “because of the lease payments and just the fact that we didn’t want to lose that downtown library presence.”

Sierra View, which houses one of northern Nevada’s largest collections of children’s books, first opened in 1988 on the upper floor of the mall then moved to the first floor just a couple of years later. It was never meant to be a permanent place for the library as a county facility was planned to replace it, Maurins said, but the facility was never built.

The branch also has remained afloat in the past couple of years because of the mall landlord’s benevolent offer of free rent, he added.

“We haven’t had any discussions with the tenants (at the mall), but the landlord has offered us free rent for next year," Maurins said. "He offered us free rent this year, which we gratefully accepted and he extended the offer. But the direction we have for our budget is to make it sustainable over time and we felt like we can’t rely on the generosity of the landlord to keep us in our location. Therefore, it’s not sustainable.”

The downtown Reno branch has been a mainstay in its area, with a large facility that houses computers with Internet access and friendly staff, Maurins said. It would be the best choice keep open now so as to help move the system forward should a new facility ever be built that would replace both Sierra View and the current downtown Reno branch.

“Whether we upgrade this building or build a new library that could potentially take the place of it and Sierra View, we thought this would be a better transition in the long run,” he said.

Despite public perception that it serves mostly transient or low-income populations, the downtown Reno library serves a broader public, also making it a difficult choice for closure.

Maurins said layoffs are a last-resort option as plans for cuts are being considered.

“The library board has directed me to come up with a plan to avoid layoffs,” he said. “Whether we close leased libraries, we think we can avoid layoffs, at least for the time being.”

If either library is closed, staff would be reassigned and materials would be transferred to other branches, he said.

Optimistically, there may not be any closures, but Maurins said he had to make a recommendation.

“It’s not an easy decision,” he said. “It’s not an easy recommendation for me to make, but it was the way to go. And maybe the library board will make a decision to keep them open and say, ‘Staff it the best you can.’ ”

Broad community support has risen in recent weeks as word has spread about the system’s dilemma.

“People are very passionate about it,” Maurins said. “The ones contacting me have strong opinions. It does show that people care. It’s really hard to try to look at the long-term … and dealing with people’s feelings.”

The library system’s budget has already taken a major hit. The library's current annual operating budget of $8.1 million is 38 percent lower than what was allotted in 2008. Right now, the system is looking to slash another $478,000.

Maurins said he’s received a countless number of e-mails about keeping Sierra View open and that it would impact their ability to go to a library because the next closest location is the Sparks branch.

“They’ve said the parking there is better, the staff is friendly and they have a great children’s collection,” he said. “Some think it’s more family-friendly than downtown and I can certainly understand where they’re coming from.”

The board meeting takes place at 3 p.m. today at the downtown Reno library.