Where money is tight, people are apparently turning to one resource that is often taken for granted, the local public library.
A brief survey of Lincoln County libraries this week confirms what has been reported as national trend: library use is up, way up, even while budgets across the county remain static.
“Can you help me get into Facebook?” a patron asked Waldoboro Public Library director Sara Gallant.
Gallant said more people have come into the library as they cut back on family expenses in light of the faltering economy. She said attendance at library programs has doubled in the past year.
“There are definitely a lot more people using computers,” she said.
According to Bristol Area Library librarian Jackie Bennett, on Mondays during the summer months, people are lined up outside. Once inside, the library is so full people sit on the floor, tapping away on their laptops.
“Monday is our busiest day,” Bennett said.
She said there is an overall increase in use due to the economic downturn. People are dropping Internet services at their homes to come to use the library’s service for free.
People who also might not want to pay for cable TV or who are caught between in the analog-digital muddle are borrowing DVD movies from the library. Bennett said the biggest compliment the Bristol library receives regards its collection, in books as well as in its growing DVD shelf.
This library does takes in volunteers and conducts fundraising activities to bring in money. According to Bennett, the Bristol library has 23 volunteers that come to the library on a weekly basis and 15 other volunteers to help out at events. Their work collectively adds up to roughly 36 hours.
The library also has book sales and other fundraisers. Their out-of-town membership fee is $10 per year. Students and children memberships are free.
Bennett said the library made $4500 last year from the sale of donated books.
“We’re not a huge budget and that makes a big difference,” she said.
Bristol has also made efforts to reduce the light bill. Using a donation from the Van Winkle Family Donation and Efficiency Maine program, the library replaced bulbs to reduce this electricity cost, Bennett said.
The Bristol Area Library wants to increase their annual town budget allocation from $12,000 to $13,000. This increase would allow the library to open for a full day on Mondays during the summer, Bennett said.
The Waldoboro Public Library has increased its services to try and meet the growing needs of the public, Gallant said. They have visiting authors, slideshows, poetry readings and discussions. She said Midcoast Audubon would have a program on bluebirds.
A teacher from Senior College uses the conference room at the library. The Maine Humanities Council, the Center for Maine Contemporary Art and other local organizations host presentations at the library.
In 2008, there were 244 new adult patron cards and 70 children patron cards, Gallant said. The number of people who borrowed books, films and other library materials increased roughly 30 percent. Just fewer than 20,000 patrons walked through the door of the Waldoboro Public Library last year, she said.
Gallant said the library’s increased use comes from an increased population. She also said there are patrons who had not used the library for years and are once again returning for its services. Others are discovering the library for the first time, while the regular patron is coming to the library more now than before.
She believes people come to the library to search for jobs online, as well as to check their email, though she couldn’t say for sure. She said the photocopier has been getting a lot of business, as well.
Thinking for the future, Gallant would like to deliver books and other materials to the elderly and disabled. Waldoboro does a little bit of that now, she said, but would like to expand the library’s capacity. Gallant said she was thankful for all of the work provided by volunteers.
Story hour, which has been very popular as of late, is provided by a volunteer, Gallant said. People come in to stack books on shelves and maintain other library functions.
“We’re always hoping to do more with more people and two or three more hours in a day,” she said.
The Waldoboro Public Library is asking for an increase in funding this year, but Gallant said it would be proportionate to budget requests in years past.
Additionally, Gallant said the costs taxpayers would have incurred had they bought the books, CDs and videos outright, far outweigh what the town allocates to the library. Based on the Library Value Calculator on the Maine State Library web site, Gallant said this cost would have amounted to $748,580.
The town appropriated $72,380 for the library for 2008. Gallant said the return on every dollar the town allocated toward the library came to $10.34.
“Taxpayers would have to look far and wide to find a more far-reaching use of their hard-earned funds,” Gallant said. “We are grateful for ongoing support from the town.”
