The library - a recession sanctuary

IN A SPEECH a month ago to the nation's governors, 41 of whom he said were likely to face budget shortfalls, President-elect Obama said, "Jobs are being cut. Programs for the needy are at risk. Libraries are being closed. . ." Libraries are a rhetorical anchor for Obama, from his 2008 campaign promise to "connect our schools and libraries" to the Internet to his 2004 Democratic convention speech where he said, "we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries."

This week, senior Obama advisor David Axelrod said support for libraries is still part of the stimulus package, "refurbishing the nation's classrooms and labs and libraries so our kids can compete."

That is, if the libraries first avoid being trampled.

Obama's library lament to governors came in Philadelphia, where Mayor Michael Nutter says he must shutter 11 of 54 branches in cuts of "epic proportions." This is part of a silent tragedy. Library systems across the nation face cuts and closures at the very moment they have become recession sanctuaries.

Checkouts of books, CDs, and DVDs are up 15 percent at the main library in Modesto, Calif. In Boulder, Colo., circulation of job-hunting materials is up 14 percent. Usage of the Newark Public Library in New Jersey is up 17 percent. Library card requests have increased 27 percent in the last half of 2008 in San Francisco. The Boise Public Library reported a 61 percent increase in new library cards in 2008. In Brantley County, Georgia, library computer usage was up 26 percent in the last quarter.

"Some have said their computer at home was all torn up," Brantley library manager Kathy Moody told the Florida Times-Union. "Others have said they don't have Internet service or they had to drop their service."

In Washoe County, Nevada, library director Arnold Maurins credited early voting for a 9 percent or 10 percent increase in library usage that has stuck. "I think it's kind of a common-sense conclusion that people are looking for less expensive ways to meet their reading or recreation needs," Maurins told the Associated Press. "They can go to a program that's free instead of paying $20 to go to the movies."

In Kern County, California, where Diane Duquette has been library director for 22 years, library checkouts were up 19 percent in the last quarter. She told the Bakersfield Californian, "We've never had that kind of increase before. Wow. In my time here, we've maybe had a 1 percent or 2 percent increase in good years."

The Boston Public Library is no different. New library cards are up 32.7 percent from July to November of 2008, compared with the same period in 2007. Visits are up 13 percent, from 1.4 million visits to 1.6 million. Checkouts of books, CDs, and DVDs are up 7.2 percent overall over the last fiscal year. More telling is that checkouts have soared between 27 percent and 37 percent at the Egleston Square, Fields Corner, Jamaica Plain, and Orient Heights branches.

New BPL president Amy Ryan said a baby story program at the Copley library has grown from fluctuating between 60 and 80 families to well over 100. Monthly visits to a free Internet homework tutoring service have doubled from 300 to 600. She said anecdotal reports indicate a spike in people using branch libraries to research new careers or returning to school. This is despite the BPL probably facing cuts, too.

"Libraries are unfortunately used to this," Ryan said. "But the essential role of the library cannot be duplicated in anybody's home, when you consider the combination of manuals, books, and librarian expertise," Ryan said. "In down economic times, families aren't going out to spend a lot of money on books and movies. This is when the branches can shine as a community gathering place and at a time when people are seeking answers to life improvement."

Libraries are shining so brightly in this recession, the nation's politicians - from Obama to the mayors - must keep their lights flickering. Obama says he wants to link all libraries to the Internet. You cannot connect them if the doors are locked.

Derrick Z. Jackson can be reached at jackson@globe.com.