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 St. Catharines Public Library
Free rentals, Internet access, job resources tend to bring more traffic to book-lending hubs as economy worsens
St. Catharines, Ontario (map) - As Canada's economy worsens and anxieties rise, the most popular place in the city could become one where everything is free -- the public library.
Historically, tough economic times mean more people flock to the free books, CDs and Internet access offered at their local libraries, said Lilita Stripnieks, St. Catharines Public Library CEO.
American libraries are already seeing an increase in usage. It hasn't happened here yet, Stripnieks said. Then again, Canada's economy hasn't suffered as much.
"Give it six months and then ask me the question," she said.
During the Great Depression, library usage skyrocketed, she said. Other recessions have resulted in a corresponding increase in library traffic. The American Library Association has reported a 10 per cent increase in library usage compared with last year, and a higher spike than in 2001, when the economy also saw a downturn.
"It's because people can't afford to do anything else," Stripnieks said. "They can't afford to buy the magazine or the movie or the $30 book. They can walk a couple of blocks farther and go to the library for free."
"When economic times are tough, people have to find alternatives to what they did before, then it brings an a-ha! moment," Stripnieks said. "People think, 'Geez, I forgot about the library.' "
There has been a slight increase in the number of Internet sessions at the St. Catharines library this year. As of September, patrons logged on for 31,202 Internet sessions compared with 28,485 over the same period last year. The library's catalogue system has been used 130,954 times compared with 116,337 times during the same period last year.
But, Stripnieks said, those numbers will likely end up being roughly equal by the end of the year. It is too early in the economic turmoil to know if it will significantly impact usage.
Greg Smith, CEO of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library, has experienced the phenomenon. He worked at the Oakville Public Library in 1990, when Ontario was trapped in a recession. Many white-collar workers lost their jobs, then flocked to the library for free entrepreneurial and job-seeking sessions.
"How to write a resume, a cover letter, interviewing skills, it's all available in print," Smith said. "And the amount of electronic information we have has just ballooned. We live in an information age and the ability of a person to come into the library and increase their employment opportunities is significant."
In a stressful economy, Smith said, "communities cannot afford ignorance."
Nearly every information source that costs money is available for free at the library, Stripnieks said. DVDs and books can be rented. The library's Internet terminals are often full. Free courses include word processing, job searching and finding health information online.
"We are a democratic institution," she said. "You don't have to pay to get in the doors. It's the only place people can go where it doesn't cost anything."
Ann McKenzie, manager of children's and community services at the St. Catharines library, recalls the early 1990s when local workers felt the pain of a recession.
"From that point on, I think that group had an a-ha! moment and visit," she said. "As a result, I think more people realized how much a library can help them."
October is Canadian Library Month. To mark it, Brock University and Niagara College launched a reciprocal borrowing agreement between their two libraries. Students and faculty at either school can borrow books from the other library by showing an identification card.
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