Jessica, of Hazlet, along with her parents, attended the program on a warm summer night so she could have a chance to try out some games, in addition to checking out a book.

"It sounded like a lot of fun," said Ellen Montemarano, her mother.

"We have a Wii at home, but (we) don't have this one," she said, gesturing to the Hannah Montana game.

Corina Cepleanu of the township's Belford section, along with her husband and sons, Sebastian, 8, and Gabriel, 6, came by the library to test out the console.

"(We've) wanted to buy a Wii for the longest time. They love it. They're very excited," she said.

Frank Bolanos of Middletown sat and watched his son, Adrian, 6, take a turn on Wii bowling.

"He just has "Wii Sports,' (so) he's trying the rest of the games." Bolanos said.

Meanwhile, at the Waretown branch of the Ocean County Library, it was all about Them.

Them, held Monday, was a program introducing people to insects such as African millipedes and hissing cockroaches. (The name of the program derives from the mid-1950s movie of the same name about radioactive mutant ants taking over the U.S.) But the focus of the program could also be another "them," introducing children and adult patrons to the different offerings of the Main Street branch.

"We come to all these library programs," said Audrey Vernon of Waretown, a parent of one of the child participants.

Kim Donlevie of Doylestown, Pa., who was also at the event, agreed.

"We come to this library a couple of times a month," Donlevie said.

No longer synonymous with dusty bookshelves and librarians with "Shhh!" constantly on their lips, libraries are being transformed into community centers, offering recreation, socialization and information, places for community members to gather for leisure as well as to increase their brainpower. And with the changing appearances of libraries, patrons are showing up in crowds.

Variety of programs

At the Middletown library, the Wii family night is one example of a program that has taken off quickly. The New Monmouth Road branch saw a 47.8 percent increase in visits from 2002 to 2006, and offers a wide array of programs in addition to crafts, book clubs and story time. Available for both adults and children are diverse programs such as art exhibits, a children's meet-and-greet with a K-9 police dog, musical performances, computer classes and even a knitting circle.

After undergoing massive renovations for about 18 months, the Middletown library reopened in October 2004, with an influx of new offerings to welcome patrons back.

Director Susan O'Neal said that the library decided to expand on its programs with the reopening. Childrens' programs already were a core offering, but the library has since expanded on its adult and teen offerings.

"We finally (have) the facility to do these things and do them well," she said.

O'Neal said funding for the library's programs is "minuscule" compared with that allotted for buying materials and maintaining technology. A large part of it comes from the Friends of the Library Foundation, a nonprofit organization that raises funds to supplement the library collection and subsidize programs not included in the budget.

"The Friends of the Library have a long-term commitment to help us," O'Neal said. "We spent less than $2,000 on the Wii project."

Ken Sheinbaum, director of the Monmouth County Library system, said that the amount allotted for programs also is much smaller than that for buying materials. Sheinbaum said that in 2008, $358,856 was allotted for all programs at all sites, but the materials budget was about $6.2 million. It is a big gap, but the programs budget is being increased on a yearly basis, he said, with the 2008 programs budget up 4.6 percent over 2007's budget.

"A lot of that is because we're pumping more money to branch and member libraries, especially for childrens' programs," he said. "Childrens' programs are a lot cheaper."

Sheinbaum said that while it may cost between $7,000 and $8,000 to fund an adult program, the budget for childrens' programs is much smaller, with programs potentially costing less than $4,000.

"We get a lot more mileage out of childrens' programs," Sheinbaum said, noting that the adults who accompany them usually also check out an armful of books during their visit.

O'Neal gestured to the attendees of Wii night.

"It's a beautiful summer night, and all these people are here," O'Neal said, of the game night. "There's something to this."

Expansion in Ocean

The goals of the Ocean County Library are listed on the home page of its Web site. The library is the focal point of the community. The library is a catalyst for growth and change. Every Ocean County resident uses and champions the library.

Evidence of that can be seen at the headquarters of the Ocean County Library on Washington Street, Toms River, where $12.9 million was spent between 2002 and 2007 to expand the building. Part of that expansion included a 50,000-foot addition that nearly doubled its size.

Part of that addition is the 250-seat multipurpose room named after James J. Mancini, an Ocean County freeholder and liaison to the library from 1982 until his death in 2003. An adjacent Green Room can be used as a preparation room for Mancini Hall events or as a 30-person meeting room.

Some events also are able to utilize an atrium framed in part by the library's elevator and main staircase. An attached, former 19th century Presbyterian church, which moved to a new building and location in 1970, was incorporated into the library and used for events and presentations starting in 1981. In May 2007, a Dunkin' Donuts franchise opened in that space.

There is also the McConnell Gallery on the first floor, where community artwork is displayed and rotated every seven weeks or so. Artwork also is displayed elsewhere throughout the building, and the library is always looking for people who want to exhibit items from their hobbies, crafts, or collections.

Four other branches have or will be expanded, and two — Beachwood and Stafford — will be replaced to meet public demand, according to the system's approved facilities plan. Two other "reading centers" — a smaller version of a library branch — are to be established in the North Dover section of Toms River and the Bennetts Mills section of Jackson by 2010.

And while other branches may not be as spacious as the library headquarters, each has something to offer, said Scott Rodas, who oversees special programming at the library.

"There's plenty of demand. In 2007, I was personally responsible for 48 programs systemwide, most of which were at Toms River. In 2008, I've already put together 33 programs," Rodas said.

Many of the patrons who attend events at the library are repeat visitors, he said.

"Everybody who attends has been really grateful, and we've received some really great compliments," Rodas said.

"People say they can't believe this is the Ocean County Library. It's becoming a well-known venue for all sorts of events," Rodas said. "The word is spreading."

According to a study done by the National Center for Education Statistics, many libraries in New Jersey have seen an increase in both patronage and circulation from 2002 to 2006.

During that time, the Tinton Falls library saw an increase from 2002's 15,050 visits to 2006's 32,795 visits, a 117.9 percent increase.

"When the economic situation is poor, people tend to come to the library," said Pat Whitehead, head librarian at Monmouth County's library headquarters in Manalapan.

Whitehead also credited the increase in visitors to the array of multimedia that the branches offer, including DVDs for both adults and children and books on CD. Both the Middletown and Red Bank public libraries also offer wireless internet connections.

The independents

The Keyport Public Library, which is independent from the Monmouth County system, saw a 21.7 percent increase in visitors, and an 18.4 percent increase in circulation during the five-year period from 2002 to 2006.

Director Jacqueline LaPollo said that the programs offered by the library played a part in bringing in more people.

"One of the things that has become really popular is the childrens' programs in the summertime," LaPollo said.

She added, "Reading programs are really what made us have a really big jump for July and August," as well as other factors including having more computers in the library as well as offering DVD rentals.

The Beach Haven Public Library is the only one in Ocean County that is not a part of the 21-branch county system. The building at Third Street and Beach Avenue at the southern end of Long Beach Island had about 10,000 visitors in 2006, up from 7,925 visitors in 2002.

That pales in comparison to the 3,216,465 visitors to libraries in the county system, the state's largest, in 2006. Still, the Beach Haven library is comparable to other libraries in the county, said Virginia Donnelly, its librarian.

"We have a big tourist population in the summer. If it is a nice beach day, we're not as crowded," Donnelly said.

But those tourists also are patrons of the library.

"A lot of people on vacation may not have a computer, so they're here, checking e-mail, all day long. We have students from eastern Europe (and elsewhere outside the United States) who work in restaurants and other businesses in Beach Haven, they all check their e-mail," Donnelly said.

The library features community programs as well. A book discussion group meets once a month. During a summer program called Colonial Chats, local historian Jack Lamping gives an hour-and-a-half presentation that is well attended, Donnelly said. One recent talk focused on George Washington.

"With no video store in town, people who want a movie come to the library," which has a selection of DVDs available to rent, she said.

"We're just like the Ocean County Library, just on a smaller scale," Donnelly said.

The article includes material from previous Press stories. Staff writer Bob Vosseller contributed to this story. Jennifer Bradshaw: (732) 888-2621 or jbradshaw@app.com