A new chapter begins for libraries as economy sinks

Great article about library use going up in tough economic times , and how libraries contribute to the workforce-capacity-building that is essential to economic prosperity.

A new chapter begins for libraries as economy sinks
Crowds flock in, not for musty books, but for free CDs, DVDs, Internet access — and help finding a job
DAWN WALTON
From Monday's Globe and Mail
January 26, 2009 at 4:36 AM EST
CALGARY — Even before Calgary's Central Library opened yesterday at noon, dozens of people crowded inside its modest-sized heated foyer, while still more were lined up outside braving the -19 wind chill.
Crowds have been growing since the economy started to sour. Some were waiting to download music onto their iPods. Others wanted to borrow books. And lately, many congregate here looking for jobs.
"We're kind of a recession sanctuary," said Gerry Meek, director of the Calgary Public Library.
Across the country - indeed, around the world - public library visits are up and are expected to rise in 2009 as personal finances take a hit during a global recession that is only projected to get worse. In a time of belt-tightening, libraries provide cheap and, depending on the location, free entertainment, as well as a haven for the unemployed.
Patrons of the Toronto Reference Library surf the Internet at a bank of computers. The turbulent economy is sending crowds into libraries across Canada. ‘We’re kind of a recession sanctuary,’ said Gerry Meek, director of the Calgary Public Library. (DEBORAH BAIC/THE GLOBE AND MAIL)
"It's generally accepted conventional wisdom that libraries get busier during rough economic times," said Paul Whitney, city librarian at the Vancouver Public Library, which has 22 branches.
In downtown Calgary, 46-year-old Mark Titley arrived early, anxious to use the public computers to search for work in the construction industry or with a seismic crew.
"This is typical," said Mr. Titley, a daily visitor, as he looked at the crowd. "You'll see this place get really packed."
At the Toronto Public Library, the biggest in the country with 99 branches, visits were up 8 per cent in the second half of 2008 as the recession bore down. Use of materials increased 12 per cent over the same period, while computer usage jumped 13 per cent.
Last year, the 17 public library branches in Calgary circulated a record 15.4-million items, up 1.1-million items, or almost 7.7 per cent, from 2007.
Libraries in Ireland have also noticed the wave of visitors. But the trend is perhaps nowhere more pronounced than in the United States, where the recession, fuelled by the subprime mortgage crisis, began earlier and cut deeper.
"We're hearing from people who said I could no longer afford my newspaper subscription or I could not afford my Internet connection and now I'm going to my library because it's there," said Loriene Roy, immediate past president of the American Library Association.
Gone are the days of musty books, card catalogues and the threat of being told to "shhh." Today library visitors borrow CDs and DVDs and use study space for boisterous group work. They take advantage of free computers and bring along their laptops to use free wireless Internet.
"Now you can eat and drink in the library," added Jane Pyper, chief librarian in the Toronto system.
"The place is just more appealing."
There's also practical help for tough times.
At Vancouver's Central Library, 10 to 30 people are routinely showing up on Tuesday nights for the free "One Stop Job Search @ Your Library" workshop. Registration in programs for all ages has jumped, while the number of people logging on to the library's Web-based services was up 50 per cent in 2008 compared with 2007. Even in Calgary, Canada's biggest boomtown, seminars at the Central Library on interview skills, keeping a job and résumé development are full even though they don't begin for a month or more.
Goran Jelica, a 42-year-old computer programmer in Calgary, often brings his three-year-old son, Benjamin, to their local library to pass on his passion for reading. But the trip is also a money-saver.
"Here, if you find something you borrow it, and if you don't like it you just bring it back," he said. "At a bookstore, you can't return it."