Today the front page of the Washington Post featured an article, “Business Brisk at Area Libraries - In Bad Times, Free Resources Are a Hot Commodity” that mentioned the Duncan Branch of the Alexandria Public Library.
Before the Germantown library opened in 2007, there was hardly any “downtown” to speak of in the Montgomery County community, where houses and strip malls grew before anything else. Now it’s an important civic anchor, a main street where none existed, and the busiest library in the county.
In the past few months, it has become even busier. The library, like most in the Washington area, has had a rising tide of users as patrons look for free computer access, DVD loans and activities for children during the recession. Circulation in the last six months of the year rose as much as 23 percent in libraries around the region, records show.
The influx comes just as county managers are preparing budgets for the coming fiscal year in a time of huge shortfalls. Libraries, like other services, face drastic cuts that could mean reducing staff and hours or even shuttering branches.
“It’s a cruel irony that use is going up and budget cuts are occurring simultaneously,” said Jim Rettig, president of the American Library Association and a librarian at the University of Richmond. “What I think doesn’t get enough recognition is the role libraries play in the economic vitality and development of a community.”
The lengthy article details the challenges to area libraries, which echo trends across the country. The Alexandria Library is mentioned in the last sentence,
“Alexandria’s libraries posted a wish list on Amazon.com, hoping that benefactors might treat them to “Mr. Jefferson’s Women” by Jon Kukla for $10.17 or the “Good Dog Massage” DVD for $24.95.”
The wishlist can be accessed by going to amazon.com and clicking on “Gifts & Wish Lists” and the selecting Wish List and searching for the Alexandria Library.
