In recession, libraries do brisk business

It’s 3 p.m. on a Tuesday at the Clayton County Headquarters Library: The parking lot is a traffic jam; the kiddie section is crawling with the after-school crowd; and there’s a line forming at the computers, where job hunters and others who cut their home connections can access the Internet.

As the economy worsens, bustling has become the new normal for public libraries. In a recession, libraries fill in for financial planners, career counselors, technical educators, coffee shops, Blockbuster, Barnes & Noble and, yes, even baby sitters.

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Bob Andres/bandres@ajc.com

Computer stations are frequently occupied at Cobb County’s Central Library in Marietta. Job searches and résumés are a popular use.

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LOUIE FAVORITE/lfavorite@ajc.com

Career material is also a draw at the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library.

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LOUIE FAVORITE/lfavorite@ajc.com

Terry Brandon puts himself on the waiting list for a computer in the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library downtown.

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Statewide library use had already jumped more than 15 percent from mid-2006 to mid-2008, but library directors said numbers for circulation and new library card holders exploded in the past six months.

Yet, just as people are finding new uses for the metro area’s libraries, state funding for libraries is decreasing.

Like other departments, the state library system is expecting budget cuts up to 10 percent, said State Librarian Lamar Veatch.

Rural libraries, which can’t fall back on funding from small local governments, will be the hardest hit and could face hiring freezes, staff cuts or shortened hours.

While some metro area library systems are building new branches and renovating outdated ones, they’re planning to limit collection purchases, seek more grants, rely on Friends of the Library groups to buy books and student volunteers to staff special events.

What’s more painful, said Carol Stewart, the Clayton County library director, is the time it takes to restore funding. Her budget for materials recently returned to where it was in 2005, when the system had fewer locations — and fewer people who needed their help.

“These are the bad times, and we’ll find a way to get through, but it will take years to get that back,” Stewart said. “The intensity of people’s needs has changed dramatically.”

While setting new records for computer log-ins and circulation, libraries are adapting to the needs of the crowd — more workshops about avoiding foreclosure and job searching, fewer devoted to genealogy or book groups. Computers and computer education are the most sought-after resources.

“I could truthfully double the number tomorrow, and they would all be used the next day,” said John Szabo, director of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library system. “We’re simply limited by funding and space.”

Until the funding outlook is better, library visitors may have to get used to longer waits for books and longer lines for computers. Librarians hope the rush now will mean more people will know what resources are available, even if they’re not as desperate to use them, when the economy improves.

“We’re basically putting money back in people’s pockets,” DeKalb County Library Director Darro Willey said. “The library is a DeKalb County stimulus package.”