The Nevada State Library and Archives will cut back public hours effective July 3 to save money as mandated by the governor and Legislature.

Historically, the library and other offices associated with it have been open

8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

To absorb the deep budget cuts, research collections housed in the Nevada State Library and State Archives research rooms will be open to the public Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The facilities will be closed on official holidays and weekends as they always have.

A spokesman said those hours were selected because that is the period in which the library receives the most visitors.

Some programs will retain their existing hours of operation including the Administrative Office, the State Records Center and Development Services. They will remain on an 8 a.m.- to

5 p.m. schedule.

The Development-Literacy Office and the Micrographics and Imaging Program will be open from

7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The hourly reductions were ordered to achieve budget savings of more than 25 percent mandated in the biennial budget for the Department of Cultural Affairs. Overall, the department suffered among the deepest cuts of any state agency because of the budget crisis.