Union leaders for the Rockford Public Library have bought a little more time to try to save 30 jobs. A special meeting planned for Monday to finalize the cuts has been canceled.

The library board approved deep cuts last Monday, to fill a $1.7 million deficit, but the union had ten days to formulate an alternative proposal.

Union leaders have since requested more information, pushing the timetable back. No new deadlines have been set yet. The union wants the ten day marker to start after they receive all requested financial data. That includes explanations for specific line items in the library's budget and a rationale for why librarian assistants are hardest hit in the cuts. All but one would be dropped.

Library administrators are also planning to close the Lewis Lemon Library Branch and cut hours at others. But library leaders say until the cuts are finalized, they'll continue operating as normal, despite plummeting revenues which include the expected loss of a pension subsidy from the city.

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