Supervisors Vote to Close as Many as 12 Libraries : Cutbacks: Hours at remaining facilities will be reduced 10% to 15% because of lower state funding.

In a cost-saving measure prompted by Los Angeles County’s budget crisis, the Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to close as many as 12 public libraries and reduce hours at remaining facilities.

The supervisors will determine later this month which of 92 county-operated libraries will close. They said the state budget adopted recently made the closures inevitable by reducing payments to counties and local governments.

“This is the price we’re paying for the state failing to give us an adequate budget,” said Supervisor Ed Edelman. “We’re unraveling the quality of life we have in Los Angeles County.”

The board approved the closures 4 to 0, without debate. Supervisor Gloria Molina was not present.

The action calls for the public library budget to be cut by about $10 million, to $61 million.

County Librarian Sandra F. Reuben said service hours will be cut at all remaining libraries by 10% to 15%. The plan approved Tuesday restores about $1 million to the library budget that would have been cut under budget proposals first put forward last month.

“Without closing some libraries, I couldn’t keep the whole library system strong,” Reuben said. “It’s just like any business. You tighten down wherever you can to offer the most service to customers.”

Reuben said the library department will avoid layoffs of its permanent employees. But, she said, some of the library’s 1,000 part-time employees may be laid off.

“It’s a relief to us because it allows us to keep doors open,” Reuben said.

The library also will retain some key programs that had been threatened by previous budget proposals, including a literacy program that serves 1,700 children and adults.

Last month, the board approved a budget that cut $250 million in services, including reductions in the Sheriff’s Department and the district attorney’s office.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the board delayed action on a proposal to reduce monthly General Relief welfare payments to single adults from $341 to $299. County Counsel DeWitt Clinton announced that welfare advocates had filed suit to prevent the cuts.