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Hiba Abdulkreem, 12, reads a book at the back of the Toronto Public Library's bookmobile in Scarborough on Dec. 8, 2011.

Facing renewed resistance from the likes of Margaret Atwood, several members of Rob Ford's inner circle are working to block the city from cutting library hours.

Councillor Michelle Berardinetti will introduce a motion at Thursday's executive committee meeting that would endorse a 10-per-cent cut to Toronto's library system with the caveat that no library hours be cut.

"This board will have to be innovative and creative to get to 10 per cent," Ms. Berardinetti said, "but that cannot involve closing library doors."

Ms. Berardinetti, along with fellow executive members Jaye Robinson and Cesar Palacio – both of whom also sit on the city's library board – are spearheading the idea that the $170-million agency can meet the full cut without going after core services.

At a budget committee meeting on Monday, Ms. Berardinetti voted to cut the library budget by an extra $7-million – what would mean a total 10-per-cent shave – even after members of the library board said they could shrink the agency no more than 5.9 per cent.

That motion immediately enflamed library defenders, such as Ms. Atwood, the author who last year sparred with Councillor Doug Ford over the fate of Toronto branches.

She was back at it on Tuesday. "#Toronto voters: your councillors did not hear you," she wrote on her Twitter account. "Please remind them that you don't want your #TPL library trashed."

Early in the budget process, the mayor demanded 10-per-cent reductions from every facet of the municipality. He later granted reprieves to police, fire, parks and nine other government departments, but has refused to extend one to libraries.

Councillor Janet Davis, the library board member who led the charge against caving to the mayor's 10-per-cent demand, said that by taking branch hours off the table Ms. Berardinetti will force the libraries to make more drastic reductions in other parts of the agency's budget.

"The Chief Librarian has already told us that if we don't cut hours, we will have to decimate our collections by 30 per cent and do away with cherished library programs."

Chief Librarian Jane Pyper reported to the board late last year that if the agency is to meet the mayor's demand without cutting hours, it would need to eliminate school outreach, bookmobiles and adult literacy programs while shedding $3-million from the collections budget. The board rejected that proposal.

Both Mr. Palacio and Ms. Robinson maintain that the system has other cost-cutting options available that Ms. Pyper isn't exploring.

Mr. Palacio released a statement on Tuesday explaining how the board could save $1.7-million if the libraries stopped buying popular movies and magazines.

And Ms. Robinson has previously asked the Chief Librarian to look at offsetting costs by having the Toronto Library Foundation pay for some collections and consolidating some backroom operations with City Hall.

It isn't clear yet how executive will vote on Ms. Berardinetti's motion. The mayor's office is concerned that taking branch hour cuts off the table will rob the board of a potentially vital budget-busting tool.

Ms. Berardinetti doesn't buy it. "Cutting hours is a slippery slope that I refuse to go down," she said. "If we cut hours this year, we show that we can find more hours to cut next year and the year after."

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