They say that libraries are used more during times of economic uncertainty.
That certainly holds true within the Bruce County library system.
Library director Marzio Apolloni says they’re astounded at the numbers that have come in for 2009, compared to 2008.
Apolloni says overall there’s been a 9 per cent increase in circulation over 2008.
The biggest increase came from the Tara branch where they saw a 43 per cent increase in usage; Lucknow, Mildmay and Paisley branches saw increases over 20 per cent and Port Elgin and Southampton had increases of 10 and 20 per cent respectively.
Apolloni says he attributes some of the increase to the accessibility of library services over the internet.
He says books can be put on hold or ordered via the internet and in some cases, the library will deliver the books.
They also have a site where people can write reviews of the books they’ve read and of course, there’s a full catalogue of titles on line.
Apolloni thought the increased use on line would result in a decrease in actual, physical visits to the various branches.
Such as not the case.
Apolloni says in 2009 — 222 thousand people visited the branches — an increase of 23 per cent over the year previous.
The Bruce County Library system has 18 branches serving 70 thousand people with a budget of three million dollars to get the job done.
