Children, Others Rally in Support of Library : Demonstration: Protesters hope to draw attention to the branch on McFadden Avenue, which Santa Ana officials may have to close for budget reasons.

SANTA ANA —  Thirteen-year-old Kosal Sim gave up playing ball Saturday to join other schoolchildren, teachers and parents at a rally to protest the possible closure of McFadden Branch Library.

Sim and a group of mainly young children lined the sidewalk near the library, waving signs to numerous honks and shouts of approval from passing drivers and residents.

“I’m hoping the library will stay open,” said Sim, a student at McFadden Intermediate School. “Closing the library will make a lot of people sad.

“People go there to hang out with friends and learn how to read.”

While the kids chanted near the street, more than 100 teachers, parents and residents gathered nearby at the R-Ranch Market parking lot, calling for support of the library.

Santa Ana Library Director Rob Richard has said that closing McFadden Branch Library is one way to cut the needed 10% from his department budget.

But closure has not been formally recommended or approved, he said.

Still, rally leaders fear that the city will not consider the library a top priority for funding because of misconceptions that the library is not being used by enough people in the area.

Lorna Karagiozov, a third-grade teacher at Jackson Elementary School, said local residents and students from 11 schools rely heavily on the library, even though circulation numbers may not show it.

“The great thing about this library is that it’s within walking distance,” Karagiozov said.

“My hope is that the City Council will hear that these people have feeling for this library,” she added.

Protesters said that closure would hurt local children and the elderly who can’t get to the other two public libraries in Santa Ana, both about two or three miles from the McFadden branch at 2627 W. McFadden Ave.

Arnie Winer, a librarian at Valley High School, said that recent budget cuts have curtailed services in the schools, making students more dependent on the public libraries.

He said he often sends students to McFadden Branch Library for books not available at the school.

Rally leaders urged people to contact council members to support the library.

The group has gathered more than 1,000 signatures so far.

“It’s not too late, and the community should make themselves heard,” Karagiozov said.