MORLEY — The Morley Library will become a victim of high heating costs this winter.

The Canton Free Library Board has decided to close the Morley branch from Nov. 1 through March 31.

"We are the poor cousin," said Joan M. Seavey, the Morley branch manager. "We feel this is the first step in closing the library."

The Canton board intends to reopen Morley on April 1 but can't afford to pay the heating bills, library Director Carolyn J. "Lyn" Swafford said. "We're struggling here," she said.

The Canton library pays for the operating costs of Morley, but the Morley Library Association, which owns the building, is responsible for its maintenance and improvements.

The Morley library building is more than 100 years old and needs significant work to make it energy-efficient.

"I just know it doesn't hold heat," Mrs. Swafford said. "Once something is done, that will be a big help."

In 2007, Canton paid $1,775 to heat the Morley branch, which is open nine hours a week, from 7 to 9 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, and from noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays. Last year, after fuel prices skyrocketed, the Morley Library was over its fuel budget by the time April came, Ms. Swafford said.

Library trustees would like to see the Morley association enlist volunteers to renovate the library building so it can stay open year-round.

Mrs. Seavey's husband, Joseph A., is planning to resign as president of the Morley association. Trustee Jeanne Bulriss hadn't been notified of the closure yet and didn't want to comment.

Mrs. Seavey hasn't made up her mind whether to accept Canton's offer to have her work there this winter.