New Hampshire

Libraries see circulation increases in toughest times

Circulation increases as economy slumps

By Rebecca Correa
rcorrea@eagletribune.com
Published: January 5, 2009

A record will be broken.

About 300,000 items — more than ever before — were borrowed from Londonderry's Leach Library last year.

And it's not just books that are flying off the shelves.

In the past five months, everything from museum passes to DVDs is being checked out at a higher rate than ever, according to Assistant Library Director Sally Nelson.

She said the number of patrons who borrowed museum passes increased by 50 percent, participants in the children's program jumped 35 percent and the overall circulation of materials increased by 20 percent.

"We're looking at double digit increases for everything, which is just incredible," she said. "We've seen a huge increase in patrons."

In Windham, it's a similar story. Library staff members are checking out about 200 items to residents each day. In Derry, staffers greeted more than 136,000 patrons this year, 5,000 more than two years ago. In Hampstead, circulation increased more than 15 percent in the past year.

Hampstead Library director Peggy Thrasher said she always knew recessions were good for libraries, but a 15 percent increase in one year was more than she expected.

That's a sentiment shared by most local librarians and even New Hampshire state librarian Michael York.

"We are hearing it from lots of libraries, that their attendance is up dramatically," he said. "This isn't the first time we've gone through this. ... In 1991 and 2000 to 2001, there is a correlation with (usage) and the economy. This is a common scene that libraries are very active in times like this."

Sandown Public Library director Barbara Lachance said she knows firsthand that some of the newest patrons of the library are there to save money.

"I definitely think part of it would be the economy. In the last couple months, I've had quite a few people getting new cards," she said. "Computer usage is up because people need to cut back on certain expenses and one of those ways is cutting Internet costs down."

Movies are increasingly popular items, too.

"Another gentlemen who just got get a new card was saying, 'Why pay money to rent movies when I can get a new card and get them for free here?'" Lachance said.

Derry Library director Cheryl Lynch said a lot of people are coming in to use the library's resources for job searches.

"We saw this building a couple of years ago," she said. "People are job hunting and the skills they need to job hunt, say for instance typing or how to write a resume, can be learned here."

Whatever the reason may be, people flocked to take advantage of all the services offered by libraries this year.

"It's huge, absolutely huge," said Nelson of Londonderry. "From what we have seen, knowing how busy we are, it's not just one department. Every department is busy — interlibrary loans, children's programs, Internet usage, everything. People can't afford to do expensive things anymore."

Libraries were especially popular during last month's crippling ice storm.

When residents of Southern New Hampshire went without power for almost two weeks, many of them flocked to the library.

In Derry, so many patrons visited the library during the storm that the wireless network crashed. In Londonderry, the library became a "haven" to dozens of patrons who camped out for most of the day.

At Sandown Public Library, the power was out, but the patrons kept coming.

"We were open in the ice storm for two-hour sessions and the firefighters donated flashlights," said Lachance of Sandown. "There was no light and kids were looking for books with flashlights. ... We just wanted to do something for the community."

And that community feeling is one reason library circulation may continue to rise, long after the recession is over, according to York.

"The main reason for the increase is not that people are desperate and needing to get information, but there is a library in every single community in New Hampshire," he said. "Its a community center and, to me, it's just natural that this is where people would go, should go and will continue to go."