BRADFORD COUNTY, Pa. (WENY) -- The Friends of the Bradford County Library organization has been working hard to make the support for keeping the library open known. The county commissioners proposed the closing of the library due to budget issues and citing low attendance numbers. In a packed house at the library Tuesday evening, it was overwhelmingly clear that the community thinks the library should stay open. 

“Part of the mission statement of the friends is to advocate and market what the library does and the services they provide,” said Cory Hodgdon, president of friends of the Bradford County Library. 

The group is doing just that. The library provides internet, books, movies, and resources like iPads to the rural community. Organization leaders say they are pleased that so many people showed their support tonight. 

“It made me feel really good.  As the president of the friends, you always wonder how many people are willing to support you, and it was awesome to see how many people were out here willing to support their local library,” added Hodgdon. 

A petition to keep the library open is circulating, with the help of the group. The petition has gained 3,000 signatures, and that number is still rising. Some patrons said they are willing to give their own resources to help the cause. 

“In the meeting I mentioned I would gladly print materials that we can distribute around the community, something that I would gladly pay out of pocket to help support our library. As a homeschool parent we use this library, our local libraries weekly and read our books from it daily, so I would gladly invest my own money to support them,” said Crystal Sherrard, a library patron. 

Over forty people were in attendance last night, and one man summed up the thoughts of the evening. 

“I am sad not only for myself, but for the community as a whole because it really is a great resource and the people are tremendous,” said Hugh Austin, a library patron. 

As of right now, the topic of the Bradford County Library is not on any commissioner's meeting agendas. The fate of the library is still up in the air. 

The link to the petition to save the library can be found here.