News Report #1

When the economy busts, libraries boom!
It makes sense when you think about it. When people are spending more money on gas and electricity, they have less money to spend on extracurricular activities like going to the movies or renting them, going on vacations, or buying books and magazines. Therefore, the library is a great place to turn to for educational and fun entertainment when times are tough. The great thing about libraries is that they are free. Signing up for a library card and checking out a book is easy to do. However, books are only the beginning at libraries these days. They have books on tape, movies, magazines, newspaper, rental laptops, high speed internet, musical readings, and even cultural performances. It is a great place to take a child and check out children’s books or movies and spend the day doing that rather than paying to go to the amusement park or movies. New libraries are opening up all over, and they are providing more and more services than ever before. There are 14 Washington County Cooperative Library Services member libraries and in the past year, the circulation is up more than 14 percent. The total number of items checked out of these libraries is 8,444,266. Signing up for library cards and sign ups for children’s summer reading programs are also significantly increasing and breaking records.
I can relate to this story because just last month I went to the New Hanover Public Library and signed up for a library card. I also took the little kids that I baby-sit for to check out a few books and read them at home instead of going out to eat and to Monkey Joe’s like we usually do. It was fun and educational, while at the same time we were saving money. I think that libraries are a great place to go and spend time. There is so much to do these days and you could spend a whole day in there. This summer I checked out a travel book for the Bahamas before we went there on vacation, and I was able to take it with me and learn where the hotspots are. I saved 15 dollars by doing that, because I got to take it back to the library when I was done instead of putting it on my bookshelf. In my hometown, a new library just opened up and it has been very beneficial for the community. I think that in times like these, we should take advantage of what our tax dollars go to, and also to take an opportunity to learn and educate ourselves.