Thursday, December 04, 2008

Branches seeing more use, from free films to job finding

By BEE NEWS SERVICES and KEVIN VALINE
kvaline@modbee.com

last updated: September 08, 2008 07:27:10 AM

Check it out.

That's what users of public libraries are doing these days. In an effort to stay entertained and informed without breaking the family budget, people across the country increasingly are taking advantage of the best deal in town: everything — books, CDs, DVDs — is free.

"That's pretty typical," Stanislaus County Librarian Vanessa Czopek said. "When the economy goes in a slump, libraries see more usage."

The American Library Association says use nationwide was 10 percent higher in the past year than during the 2001 economic downturn, when it tracked a similar spike in visits and circulation. Libraries recorded 1.3 billion visits and patrons checked out more than 2 billion items from April 2007 to April 2008.

Czopek said the number of books, CDs, DVDs and other materials checked out at Stanislaus County's 13 branch libraries grew by 1.5 percent to 2.3 million items during the budget year that ended June 30 compared with the previous year.

She said the library also saw increases in the number of sessions on its 243 public computers, higher attendance at its children's programs and a spike in new library cards, with the number of new cards issued up by nearly 10 percent.

Cheri Bye, 49, stood in line with her son Matt Truby, 29, at the main library in downtown Modesto last week as they waited to check out several books and a DVD.

"Books are too expensive on top of everything else," said Bye, who got a library card about a month ago. "Gas and food are so high, and we can barely afford them."

Gains noted across the U.S.

Some librarians around the country say the recent bump in visits may be the largest in memory.

In Highland Park, Ill., the library recorded 60,700 items checked out in June, its highest total and nearly 4 percent higher than a year earlier.

Visits to the six branches of the Howard County Library in Maryland have increased by 26 percent over last year.

The Nancy Carson library in North Augusta, S.C., ran out of cards this summer after issuing more than 100 in two weeks.

A growing population of book borrowers comes at a bad time for retailers such as Barnes & Noble and Borders, whose sales and profits are falling as consumers' discretionary spending shrinks in the face of rising food and fuel prices.

But book industry experts say the extra traffic at libraries does not pose a real threat to the publishing business.

"Book publishers have a lot of challenges, and folks getting their books via the library doesn't even make the first page," said Michael Norris, a sen-ior analyst for Simba Information, a Stamford, Conn.-based media research company. Norris said when consumer spending rises again, book sales will grow, with patrons possibly buying titles they first borrowed from the library.

Although they've also been affected by the difficult economy, libraries help to guide patrons through it.

Czopek said there's been a huge increase in job seekers asking reference librarians for help. Patrons want help preparing or updating their résumés, posting them online and applying for jobs online.

They also are asking for help in researching careers, companies and industries and in preparing for career tests.

"Résumé books are incredibly popular right now," said Christopher Dear, a reference librarian in downtown Modesto. "... In tough times like these, this is what a lot of people need — free services."

The Queens Library in New York, which is the highest- circulation public library system in the nation, is offering seminars for people facing foreclosure. And in the Santa Barbara County town of Lompoc, which was hit this year by employer layoffs, the library has a computer reserved for people searching and applying for jobs online.

Under budgetary stress

While the trend of more borrowers bodes well in the long term for libraries, it can be a mixed blessing in the short term, placing strain on some branches faced with tighter budgets as counties try to keep spending in check.

In Bartholomew County, Ind., the library has frozen hiring and postponed buying some items until 2009. The Jackson-Madison County Library in Tennessee was warned in August it may have to lay off some of its 20 full-time employees. And a proposal by the Long Beach city government to save $1.8 million by closing the library's main branch has drawn protests from residents and author Ray Bradbury.

Stanislaus County approved cutting almost $1.8 million from the library's budget for the fiscal year that started July 1. (Consumer spending drives funding for the library system. About 85 percent of its budget comes from a one-eighth-cent library sales tax collected in the county. The library also is facing rising costs.)

The 13 libraries are closed one additional day per week, three full-time positions were eliminated, and the part-time work force was cut from 138 workers to 68.

Czopek said the budget cuts have not affected patrons, who have adjusted to the belt- tightening. But she said that could change in a few months when the library starts buying fewer books and other materials because it has slashed its materials budget.

To comment, click on the link with this story at www.modbee.com. Bee staff writer Kevin Valine can be reached at kvaline@modbee.com or 578-2316.

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