JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- As you may already know, public libraries are the latest victim of the proposed budget cuts.

Some critics are angry that the libraries affected, like the one in Brentwood, are all in areas that may need their public libraries the most.

If the city's budget cut proposals go through, the Brentwood branch library hours will be slashed by 20 hours per week. The Brentwood branch happens to sit across the street from Andrew Jackson High School, a school that received a failing grade in 2008.

Herein lies the problem.

"I think those particular libraries are located in areas where the schools have had some very low ratings and low grades, which concerns us all," said Dr. Davy Parrish, who runs The Bridge, an agency that provides after-school programs for nearly 2,400 underprivileged children in Duval County.

Parrish is among those who see the proposal as unfair. Five of the six libraries facing cuts are in Northwest Jacksonville, neighborhoods considered to be under-served.

In fact, many of the children who Parrish works with at The Bridge are from those neighborhoods.

"I think libraries are symbolic of learning, and for our children, it's access to the Internet, it's access to books and knowledge, a place to study," Parrish said.

The city defends its actions by saying tough times require tough decisions. And it justifies its move with usage patterns.

"People are coming in during the day to do job searching, filling out online job applications, fill out resumes," one councilman said.

Given that students won't be able to go to the library on evenings and weekends now, the city said it has Read and Ride, a program that busses students to other libraries for free.

But for critics who view the cuts as pouring salt in a wound, this concession will likely not be enough.

The library spokesperson said that if these hour reductions do go into effect and at a certain branch things need to be changed, the city will be open to discussion and even possible adjustment.