NORTH ATTLEBORO - Changing requirements by the state library board could mean smaller libraries such as the Richards Memorial Library in North Attleboro will be open fewer hours, starting Labor Day.

While local library trustees have not yet voted on the move, Library Director Frank Ward said Tuesday that regular season hours between Labor Day and Memorial Day could be shaved by four or five hours a week, based on the new requirements.

The hours would not be cut from a single day, and the library would remain open on Saturdays, he said.

The new requirement for state certification affecting operating hours, which sustains reciprocal lending between libraries and also state aid to local libraries, is predicating the change.

It would not be the result of local cutbacks in the budget, which at the North Attleboro library led to one layoff, Ward said. "This cutback in hours is what we're expected to do; it's not reflective of the town's cut," Ward said.

The state library board has changed the hours of operation needed for certification by recategorizing libraries based on population, essentially allowing smaller communities to operate for fewer hours while still being able to maintain certification.

Under the previous requirements, for example, Richards Memorial Library was required to be open 63 hours a week during the almost 40-week period, which Ward said is equivalent to the hours of the Boston Public Library.

With expanded categories of libraries based on population, Richards Memorial would only need to operate 59 hours per week over that same period, Ward said.

Since North Attleboro's library was essentially open 64 hours a week during that last period, it could mean cutting back five hours a week starting around this Labor Day.

Ward said that with funding expected to be less in coming years, those five hours a week over 40 weeks will add up in savings in electricity and other costs.

"We think the hours can be shaved here and there with little disruption to the public," he said.

The compliance period for libraries does not include summer schedules which are already in place, he said. The library moved to its summer schedule earlier than usual to save money.

He said the library trustees could vote on the proposal at its next meeting on July 9, or at its meeting in August.

The library already plans to be among many in the state applying for a waiver in the fall to keep its state certification. Ward said the library is not being funded in the 2010 fiscal year budget to the level required by the state library commission.

He said that because the library's budget was cut in proportion to other departments in the town, he does not think there will be a problem getting the waiver.

SUSAN LaHOUD can be reached at 508-236-0398 or at slahoud@thesunchronicle.com.