Libraries across Utah are in the midst of a banner year, and they just might have the recession to thank for it.
One way Utahns are saving money is by relying on a service they pay for through property taxes.
Circulation numbers are up in Weber, Davis and Salt Lake counties, as well as Salt Lake City and Provo. And thousands of library cards have been issued this year.
The boom makes all that talk about libraries losing out to the Internet's endless information seem wrong.
It's common to see a line of people waiting for the library doors to open at 10 a.m., said Greg Near, public relations coordinator for the Salt Lake County Library. And then they go straight to the computers for Internet access or to the hold shelves, he said.
Library directors agree that the economy has driven more people to cut back on movie rentals, book buying and other discretionary activities.
Both Barnes & Noble and Borders, two of the nation's largest booksellers, have cut inventory and expenses because of the weakened economy and have seen their profits drop.
"In my 30 years, I've seen this cycle three or four times," said Gene Nelson, director of the Provo City Library at Academy Square. "In challenging times, demand goes up."
Nelson said Provo's library is having a record-breaking year, having circulated 1.7 million items in fiscal 2009, which ended in June.
Salt Lake County is on track to have a record year, as well, Near said. That's coming on the heels of a record year in 2008, during which more than 14 million items were circulated out of the library's 18 branches.
By the end of 2009, more than 15 million items are expected to be circulated, he said.
In Davis County, circulation in July increased 6 percent from July 2008, and in Weber County, circulation for that same period is up 18.4 percent.
Salt Lake City also saw a 6 percent increase overall, said library spokesman Andrew Shaw.
"Our circulation numbers broke records in seven of 12 months of the year," Shaw said.
In Salt Lake County, the 7.6 percent increase in circulation only tells part of the story, Near said.
Certain categories of materials have seen huge increases, such as gardening and crops at 27.7 percent, sewing and clothing at 19.5 percent, home economics at 19 percent and health at 15 percent.
But it's not just the books, DVDs and music that patrons are clamoring for. They are logging hundreds of thousands of hours online using hundreds of library computers. In the past year, Salt Lake City boasted 500,000 sessions on its computers, which equated to 45 years of time, Shaw said.
As much as computer usage and circulation mean to libraries, creating a sense of community is also important, he said. So the library hosts community events, such as upcoming lectures by Judy Shepherd and Nobel-prize winner Mario Capecchi.
The Provo Library hosts family night activities on Mondays, and the Weber County Library offers programs on literacy and English-as-a-second-language courses.
The way library directors look at it, patrons are already paying for the services, so why not come in?
Library circulation increases*
Weber County: 18.4 percent
Provo: 13 percent
Salt Lake County: 7.6 percent
Salt Lake City: 6 percent
Davis County: 6 percent
*July 2008-July 2009
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