Despite Ray Bradburys Efforts, A California Library Closes LOS ANGELES - Even the author Ray Bradbury put up a fight, but it was not enough to save the H. P. Wright Library in Ventura, Calif. Ethan Pines for The New York Times Sandy Caron visited the H. P. Wright Library in Ventura, Calif., before its closing. Ray Bradbury had tried to help save it. The library, like so many around the country, had fallen on hard times as city and state budgets tightened. Mr. Bradbury, a fierce advocate for public libraries, appeared at a fund-raiser last June aimed at helping to save the ailing branch. While that helped the library hang on for a bit, the long-term picture was bleak, and a recent bond measure that would have helped close a $650,000 deficit sunk. The library's final day on Nov. 30 was met with a candlelight vigil. "Needless to say, they put up a good fight," said Sydney Weisman, a spokeswoman for the San Buenaventura Friends of the Library, which tried to keep the library afloat. Libraries, like many publicly financed institutions, have been hit hard by the recession. Systems across the country have shortened hours, closed branches and in some cases threatened to close down entirely until they were saved by legislators or private donations. Several law libraries across Connecticut will close early next year. Explaining his support of libraries generally and his efforts in Ventura specifically, Mr. Bradbury said in an interview last summer: "Libraries raised me. I don't believe in colleges and universities. I believe in libraries, because most students don't have any money. When I graduated from high school, it was during the Depression and we had no money. I couldn't go to college, so I went to the library three days a week for 10 years. More Articles in US " A version of this article appeared in print on December 9, 2009, on page A28 of the New York edition.