Library Use Soaring As Economy Slips

Unemployment is bad in New York, and people have time on their hands. So they go to the library. “Use of public libraries here has climbed almost 10% since the summer of 2001 and that circulation is up 12%. Computer use just for resume writing at Mid-Manhattan increased 128% over the last year. On the fourth floor of that charmless branch on Fifth Avenue, there isn’t an empty seat on a snowy afternoon…”