Libraries boom when economy busts

The Beaverton Valley Times, Aug 28, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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If we’re looking on the bright side of things, one group is actually benefiting from the economic slowdown and high gas prices we’re facing — libraries.

Nationwide, the effects of the soaring cost of living has meant a lot of belt tightening and limited resources for extras such as movies, concerts or a trip to the book store, but when times are tough, people tend to turn to their local library to fulfill their educational and entertainment needs.

“Libraries are the great equalizer — they offer books, films, poetry readings, musical recordings, classes and cultural performances — all of these are free and open to anyone who walks through the library door,” said Eva Calcagno, manager of Washington County Cooperative Library Services.

How many more books are we talking about?

In the past year, circulation of library materials is up more than 14 percent for a total of 8,444,266 items checked out at the 14 Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) member libraries.

An additional 105,793 items were checked out this July in comparison to last July.

Currently 246,394 county residents, nearly 50 percent of the population, are registered library card holders, with 41,715 new people signing up for cards in the past 12 months.

Breaking all records this year are the 22,238 kids who signed up for the annual Summer Reading program, a 14 percent increase over 2007. The typical increase for the summer reading program is between 5 to 7 percent annually.

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