Cash-strapped residents rediscover what's free at library

Almost every town has a place like this.

You can get best-selling books and hot movies on DVD for free. You can surf the Internet. In some cases, people there will help you find a job.

In these tough economic times, libraries have become the new suburban hot spots. At some you have to circle for parking, just like you used to at your favorite restaurant on a Saturday night.

"We're always glad to be stretched and busy," said Sarah Long, executive director of the North Suburban Library System, a consortium of more than 650 libraries in suburban Lake, Cook, McHenry and Kane counties.

While library officials welcome the surge, it also has some worried about how they'll make budget ends meet in the months ahead, as state and local funding is threatened by the recession at the same time demand for library services increases.

Money's also on the mind of many library patrons. Personal finance books have become especially hot lately, said Long, adding that the boom is similar to increased library use during previous economic slides.

At the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin, checkouts of materials in January were up almost 18 percent compared to the same time in 2008, said Carole Medal, executive director. And daily library attendance at Gail Borden has gone from an average of 2,000 patrons to 3,000 - a 50 percent increase.

At the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, increased business - most notably from job-seekers - is making parking spaces hard to find, leading officials to work on a plan for employees to park elsewhere to free up spaces closer to the building.

Inside, checkouts of books, DVDs and other materials have increased for three consecutive months, and the library's 72 computers are busier than ever, Arlington Heights Executive Librarian Paula Moore said.

"We are helping people create new e-mail accounts," Moore said. "We're helping people fill our application forms online for employment. We're helping people fill out unemployment forms."

An Arlington Heights reference librarian soon will be shifted to a special kiosk to provide job-search information and assistance on weekday afternoons.

Gurnee's Warren-Newport Public Library also has had an explosion of job hunters seeking computer instruction and other help at the reference desk, Director Stephen Bero said. Computers at Warren-Newport have been upgraded with the latest Microsoft Office products to accommodate the sudden rise in visitors applying for jobs. Lines for computer use aren't uncommon.

In addition, DVDs are flying off the shelves for families looking for free entertainment.

"People realize that instead of going to Blockbuster or even Netflix, come into the library," Bero said.

At Naperville Public Library, a lot of the increased traffic is from visitors bringing in their own laptop computers with wireless Internet capabilities who likely downgraded or dropped their online service at home, spokeswoman Susan Greenwood said. The laptop users get online by tapping into the library's free Wi-Fi signal.

"Because we have high-speed connections," Greenwood said, "it's quicker for people to click around job listing sites as well as looking up company information."

Taking it to another level, a man rolled a desktop computer and large monitor into Wauconda Area Public Library a couple of weeks ago, Director Tom Kern said. He said the visitor set up the computer equipment and created a work station in a quiet area that provided enough space in the Wi-Fi enabled library.

"We were flabbergasted by that," Kern said.

Bero said he doesn't believe the increased interest in libraries will be short-lived.

"The people who were reminded of what we have to offer, who are using us more frequently again, I think it'll stick with them," he said. "I think just the severity of the dire economic times we're in is going to drive that lesson home with these new users or these renewed users, that 'Hey, I forgot about the library, here it is.' I don't think they'll forget."

But the extra business is coming when tax money is at a premium and budget cuts are occurring in some places, said Donna Dziedzic, who is both the Illinois Library Association president and the executive director of the Naperville Public Library. Libraries are receiving less state funding and primarily depend on local property tax revenue, which is expected to decrease because of the recession. Kip Kolkmeier, chief lobbyist for the library organization, told state lawmakers the funding mechanism must be altered. He said libraries deserve to be included in any statewide capital spending plan crafted in Springfield.