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February 16, 2009

Local libraries see an upswing in economic downturn

By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, 609-463-6713

Published: Monday, February 16, 2009

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE - Deborah Poillon sees the recession's effects every day from her office.
DVDs are up 13 percent.

Fiction books are up 10 percent. Children's fiction books have jumped 24 percent.

Poillon, director of the Cape May County Library, said almost 2,000 more people walked through the doors of libraries in Lower, Middle and Upper townships last month than in January 2008.

"Every time the economy does poorly, we do better," Poillon said. "The DVDs are free. The books are free."

Other activities, such as video game sessions with Nintendo Wii and tournaments with the game Rock Band, also are generating more interest, she said.
It's inexpensive entertainment "if you're trying to save yourself 100 bucks a month on entertainment," Poillon said.

Internet use has gone up only about 1 percent, although library staff reported assisting more people with job searches, Poillon said.

The Cape May County Library system has a main library in Cape May Court House and eight branches across the county.

Slow economies typically drive up library usage.

Throughout the country, Americans are using libraries more often, according to the American Library Association, which records statistics on library use.

Trips to libraries and materials checked out each increased more than 10 percent compared with data from the economic downturn in 2001, according the American Library Association.

A September study indicated 68 percent of Americans have library cards, up 5 percent from 2006, according to the ALA.

The survey indicated more people had library cards in 2008 than at any other time since the ALA started to measure library card usage in 1990.

E-mail Brian Ianieri:

BIanieri@pressofac.com

Posted by tumulty at February 16, 2009 10:04 AM

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