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GREENSBORO — Preschoolers from United True Day Care bounded up the tall steps of the mobile library. And Greensboro’s Reading Railroad came to life.

Sneakers squeaked against the floor.

Small hands grabbed at narrow book shelves.

A group gathered around 3-year-old Karissa Scott at the back of the bus, poring over a book about the human body.

“Ewwwww,” rose a chorus.

Then giggles flooded the air.

This library on wheels is a treat for kids and a resource to teachers at 67 day care centers in Guilford County.

It’s only 38 feet long. But it’s one of the city’s busiest branch libraries, circulating 6,000 items a month.

And, like hundreds of other programs run with public money, the Reading Railroad is at the epicenter of government budget woes. It’s at the heart of the soul-searching, budget-slashing decisions government officials are making.

Come July 1, the bus will probably go idle to save the city tax money as Greensboro’s library system faces budget cuts from the three groups that fund its $8.6 million budget — the city, state and county.

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Carolyn Powell and Geneva Headen call themselves the engineer and the conductor of the Reading Railroad. They are the bus-driving librarians who have built the bookmobile program over the past six years.

Inside the Thomas Built bus, they seamlessly work to check out books and re-shelve as preschool teachers and day care providers stream through.

They know their customers. They’ve got names for a bevy of puppets and stuffed toys.

They keep a shelf stocked with seasonal books for lesson plans. They set aside special titles — like Skippyjon Jones, a series about a Siamese cat with a big imagination — for fans.

“We could have 50 copies of one book, and it wouldn’t be enough because of all the child care centers we reach,” Powell said.

Teachers said they rely on the service to keep their shelves stocked with material. They are serving children who might not otherwise get to a library, teachers said.

On Wednesday, Dana Patterson, a teacher at the Price Hall Annex Child Development Center, dropped off a bag of last month’s books and went through the bus looking for another stack.

“If you knew how many times I’ve read some of these books,” Patterson said. “I read them inside and out.”

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Back at the city’s Central Library, Director Sandy Neerman sat before a stack of data. And pages of budgets.

“This is tough,” she said.

Greensboro faces a difficult budget year. Revenues are down. Council members want to keep taxes flat. The city manager tasked department leaders to chop $7.5 million out of next year’s budget, which takes effect July 1.

Neerman had to look around the system — with its myriad jobs — and decide what to cut.

Who is extraneous? What project can we do without? Which project is a luxury?

To save money, staff will be reduced by about seven positions. Powell and Headen will need to fill the service gaps at other branches.

And the Reading Railroad will have to park — a savings about $115,000.

Research found that all but seven of the stops the bus makes are within three miles of a library branch. It won’t be the same kind of service, but branches should be able to fill in the gaps, Neerman said.

The decision was difficult for Neerman, who has watched with pride as the bus service grew. But she knows that if the bus doesn’t get cut, she could face more dire decisions, such as limiting library hours.

And her financial problems have only gotten larger since she dealt with the $353,000 city budget cuts.

County Manager Brenda Jones Fox on Thursday night recommended contributing $1.7 million to the Greensboro system — a $400,000 cut.

State aid could be down also. This fiscal year, the state slashed its contribution by $35,000. No one knows what will happen next year.

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If City Council members approve this decision to cut the bus — a decision that could happen in June — the bus won’t go completely to waste.

Neerman envisions using it, parked, as a Lake Jeanette branch near Fire Station No. 3, serving annexed residents.

“We have tried to keep the strength of the system, within our neighborhoods and within our branches,” she said.

And despite their love of the bus, Powell and Headen will move to whatever is next.

“It will be a change, but we’ll deal with it. It will be fine,” Headen said.

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Back on the bus, 4-year-old Charity Maxwell’s tiny fingers snatched a book off a low shelf. She cuddled up with Powell, who had barely read a sentence before Charity found another book.

Only the best-behaved students got to paw through the picture books with teacher Gema Veleza.

“We have parents that don’t have reliable transportation. So this is the only exposure kids get to books,” she said.

Tears tumbled from 4-year-old Kofi Moro’s eyes as Veleza led him from the bus.

“That’s what all of us will look like if they decide to park the bus,” she said.

Contact Amanda Lehmert at 373-7075 or amanda.lehmert@news-record.com