Struggling economy not slowing Central Virginia libraries

By Dave Thompson

Published: November 16, 2008

With sobering economic realities giving many businesses a significant shake-up, at least one free service is thriving in the Lynchburg area — the public library.

Lynchburg Public Library Director Lynn Dodge said the amount of circulation in the library’s latest fiscal year was the best in its 42-year history.

“Over the last four years it’s been kind of a steady climb,” she said, adding, “truly the economy is a real indicator.”

“The economy sinks, people turn to the library,” Dodge said. “They’re not buying as many books … you come here and get them for free, with a small wait sometimes, rather than going there and paying $20 for a book.”

Numbers provided by Dodge show nearly 517,000 materials, including books, CDs and DVDs circulated in the 2006 fiscal year. The last time numbers were that high was in 1993.

The 2007 and 2008 fiscal years brought circulation totals of 540,245 and 562,208 items, respectively.

“It’s just indicative of what’s going on (nationwide),” she said.

Dodge said she believes the upswing in business is representative of a nationwide trend toward the local, family-friendly services that a public library provides.

“The use of the children’s program has zoomed ahead,” she said, adding, “People are looking for quality programs closer to home that are free.”

Peggy Bias, director of the Bedford Public Library System, said she has seen the same trend, particularly at the Central Library in Bedford.

“The (circulation) is up 10 percent,” she said of the first quarter since the fiscal year ended in June. “We have 15 percent more new patrons applying for cards, computer usage is up 10 percent and our attendance at youth programs is up about 20 percent”

Bias said youth programs have always been a big draw for Bedford’s library system.

“People will do things for their children that they won’t bother doing, you know, for themselves,” she said.

Dodge said though things may be looking up for the library in the rest of the calendar year, good business at the library could be a bad omen for other business owners.

“Normally in December, our use drops off by about 25 percent, because people are busy shopping, cooking, being with family,” Dodge said.

“So if our use in December does not decline,” she added, “it means that people are not doing those things. It means they are at home reading because they don’t have any money to spend on anything else.”

Dodge said there’s at least one drawback that could hit the library hard — the state budget.

State funds, she said, account for most of what the library uses for acquisitions of books and audio/visual materials.

“We’re expecting to take a hit in that this next year because the state budget is going down the tubes,” she said.

But even if the supply can’t keep up with the demand, Dodge said some people will likely prefer sitting on a few-week waiting list for a book to spending money on it.

Bias indicated the same thing.

“If your bank account is in good condition, you just get on Amazon and order the book, but if things are getting tight, well, go borrow that at the library,” she said, adding that holds true especially with audio/visual materials.

DVDs, videocassettes and CDs accounted for nearly 10 percent of the Bedford Library System’s circulation last fiscal year, according to numbers provided from the library’s administrative services department.

Dodge and Bias both said despite the state economy concerns, area government seems stable enough that libraries won’t see a significant downturn.

“Our local budget appears to be pretty stable,” Dodge said. “We’re very thankful that Lynchburg’s got a good mixed economy.”

“I don’t think we’re going to see depths of depression like other people are,” she added.