My friends at
The (Shelby, N.C.) Star sent me
a link to a story about how the bad economy is affecting local libraries:
Nationally when times are tough, that's when library usage is the busiest," Cleveland County Memorial Library Director Carol Wilson said Tuesday.
And why blame them? Home Internet bills - high-speed or otherwise - can pile up over time. "Twilight" might be a hot commodity on bookstands, but not everyone has $10 or more to spend on a hardcover edition.
But how busy does the library get nowadays?
Wilson said she previously considered a hectic weekday to be around 500 people. Now, that's changed to upwards of 700. Though on limited hours, Saturdays are "way up," with the most recent logging 380 visitors in four hours.
According to figures from the library, an average of roughly 424 people entered the memorial library doors every day from July to December -- 66,097 total.
Public computer usage is up 25 percent, despite people being guaranteed they can utilize the computers longer.
I have seen similar stories from
Boston,
San Jose, Calif.,
Mankato, Minn., and
Ontario. It probably is true for your town, too. At the same time, with budgets so tight, local governments have been cutting library hours at just the time when people need/want them extended.
