Residents in rural and Neighbor Island communities say they are being unfairly targeted under a proposal to close five libraries in order to deal with a $5.7 million budget cut to the state Public Library System.

The state Board of Education, which oversees the system of 50 libraries, is likely to vote on the proposal at its meeting tomorrow. But opposition has been mounting against the library closure proposal since it was first revealed last week.

Three libraries on the Big Island, the Hana library on Maui and the 'Ewa Beach Public and School Library on O'ahu are on the list for potential closure. The budget cuts would significantly affect the already lean $30 million library system budget.

"The community is really a little insulted that Hana was chosen as one of those to close down," said Phyllis Castro, a Hana resident and mother of three children.

"It's only a matter of convenience if (an O'ahu) library is closed. People can go to another one. For us, this is it. This is our lifeline to everything," Castro said.

About 330 Hana residents showed up for a community meeting at their library yesterday morning. They brought signed letters of opposition to Mary Cochran, the Board of Education's Maui representative.

Cochran says she will offer an amendment to the proposal to remove Hana from the list of potential closures.

Frustration is also festering in 'Ewa Beach, where residents say their library is at the center of an ongoing effort to turn around academics in that community.

"Campbell (High School) went from having a high number of truancies to having the highest graduation rate ever for our district," state Rep. Kymberly Pine said.

In a written proposal submitted to the BOE last week, state Librarian Richard Burns said the list of potential library closures was determined after "extensive analysis" of staffing vacancies, low circulation and usage, and geographical proximity to neighboring branches, among other factors.

But Pine said many Honolulu libraries are close to one another.

"They're basically saying whoever gets to live in Honolulu gets to have everything. And then if you are poor or you live in areas a lot farther ... then you don't deserve your own library. That's just wrong," Pine said.

LOSING 'SAFE HAVEN'

Karen Tyler, an 'Ewa resident and mother of three children, said kids in the community use the library as a safe haven, often going there after school to finish homework.

"We'd have to go to Kapolei, and with three kids active in sports and ROTC, we'd have to wait for the weekend," she said.

In remote Hana, branch librarian Holly Braffet said community members use the library to stay connected.

"A lot of people don't have Internet access at home, so they're coming here for that. Not only that, but in lower Nahiku there's no radio, no Internet. Some people don't even have electricity there. They come out here to read the newspapers and get their information," Braffet said.

Closing the library would literally leave people in the dark, said Daniel Skousen, a school teacher who lives in Hana.

"Our community is so isolated," Skousen said. "When you look at what (the library) means to the community, to take it away shows no compassion or real connection to the community's needs," he said.

If the library were to close, Skousen said, it would be a "half-a-day trip" for residents to go to the nearest library in Makawao or Kahului.

State Sen. J. Kalani English, D-6th (East Maui, Moloka'i, Lana'i), sent Burns a letter asking him to save the Hana location.

"I am asking you to reconsider this recommendation, and to treat Hana as you treat Moloka'i and Lana'i," English wrote. "Hana is remote, so access to educational, recreational and technical resources traditionally provided by the library is essential for a vibrant, informed community."