Library Use On The Rise

By Marcus Gilmer in Miscellaneous on Jun 28, 2009 8:45PM

With the economy in the tank, one organization is seeing a nice uptick in business: the Chicago Public Libraries. With less money available to shell out for books, it seems more and more readers are turning to the library for their literature needs with library usage in the system up 30 percent. That includes a 100 percent increase in online hold usage over the last year. Library Commissioner Mary Dempsey said, "People are realizing, 'Why should I buy my books, my CDs -- I can get it free at the library.'" It's worth mentioning that the library is also a great way to get your hands on some terrific books that are now out of print, like the Harold Washington bio, Fire on the Prairie. [WBBM]