Dec 21, 2008 7:05 pm US/Eastern
Bad Economy Has Many Turning To The Library
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
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These tough economic times have many turning to less expensive forms of job hunting and entertainment.
CBS
These tough economic times have many turning to less expensive forms of job hunting and entertainment.
Libraries across the country are seeing an increase in visitors and Baltimore's Enoch Pratt is among them.
Tim Williams has more on how many are cashing in on "free."
It is a cheap destination that offers several free services, all of which are becoming invaluable.
"Well, with the economy down, library usage is up," said Dr. Carla Hayden.
Libraries across the nation are seeing a resurgence in visitors. Josephine Donley is among them. She's currently in the job market.
"I've heard from other people that they've come and found information. They've helped them get online and look for jobs and there was help writing resumes here," she said.
Josephine, like thousands of others, is using free library resources to look for a job. Baltimore's Enoch Pratt has joined the growing number of library systems offering resume writing and employment search assistance and interview coaching. These services come at a time when joblessness is high and expendable cash is dwindling.
"It's wonderful to have people rediscover the library and that they actually are coming to us when they need us the most as well. That's what libraries are here for, so to actually have people coming in and saying, `We need your help,' is wonderful," Hayden said.
John Damond is manager of the Pratt Business Science and Technology Department. He's increasingly busy helping patrons access Pratt services, especially online.
"For instance, the job center web page has gone up 50% and the programming that we do for the public has gone up 90%," he said.
Aside from employment services, libraries nationwide are helping save money by offering classes, education and entertainment.
"What they're finding is libraries are a bargain and that they can use the library and save $500 to $600 on things they would normally buy, like bestsellers and DVDs," Hayden said.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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