The economy may be in a slump, but the number of people who walk through the doors of the Austin Public Library is up 8 percent system-wide since last summer.
Folks browse, read and take vacations in their minds.
"We have longer lines, people waiting to check out their material, so instead of having a line that's just three our four people sometimes the line will go all the way back to the elevator," John Henry Faulk Central Library's David Spradling said.
Since buying a book isn't cheap, and trips are too expensive to take, people like library user Keli Gump tour the stacks rather than a charming village in an expensive getaway.
"This way I can get a bag of 12 or 15 books for about a week, and then we come back and get some more," she said.
The amount of books people check out is up 7 percent.
Some people leave with piles of books.
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Library usage
The numbers have increased since last year at this time.
 
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Internet usage has seen the biggest increase, up 16 percent since last summer. Most of the time computers are full, and people have to wait in line.
Users visit an array of Web sites, and with the economy the way it is, many use the Internet to look for jobs.
And in the children's section, parents bring their kids in droves.
It's a great retreat that doesn't cost a dime, Youth Services Manager Thom Barthelmess said.
"All of a sudden pocketbooks are a little tighter, and people are more conscious of what they're doing and where they're going, and people who have gone away are rediscovering us, and people who never knew we were there are finding us. I think it's a wonderful thing," he said.
The only bad news the economy brings to the public library is budget cuts.
Austin City Council continues to look for ways to make up for a budget shortfall due to the economic slump.
The public library is on its list for possible cuts.
