The West County Area Library will host the first of three public meetings next month to discuss the impact of potential budget cuts to the county library system.

Anne Arundel County Public Library Administrator Skip Auld will be on hand March 10 at 7 p.m. to outline how libraries in the county could be affected by changes in the FY 2012 budget. In the library system's latest newsletter, Auld said funding to libraries in the county has dropped 16 percent in the last four years. Two years ago, the county cut $1 million, or 33 percent, from the budget for books and materials. Auld said that out of the nine largest jurisdictions in Maryland, Anne Arundel County ranks eighth in per capita funding for libraries, at $40 per person. On average, the nine largest library systems spend $56 per person.

Auld has asked the county to restore that money for materials, and to promise that any budget cuts for 2012 would not result in a change to library operating hours. "The diminished collection, coupled with reduced hours, has resulted in lower door count and less circulation of materials," Auld wrote. "In a cruel 'double punch,' we are even seeing our fine revenues drop. Our ability to fulfill our core mission has been seriously reduced already."