Business booming at Palm Beach County libraries

By Bill Dipaolo

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Monday, November 24, 2008

PALM BEACH GARDENS — Banks are tanking and the auto industry is ailing, but business is booming at county libraries.

Circulation and attendance are up 30 percent in the past two years. Book clubs and community meetings at the 16 county libraries are thriving. More job seekers are using the computers to update résumés. Parents who can't afford day care or summer camp are using libraries as an alternative.

That's why the 14-month closing of the North County Regional Library on PGA Boulevard starting in January will be tough for patrons and other nearby libraries which will have to pick up the slack.

Leaders of groups now meeting at North Regional have already started asking for space at North Palm Beach Library next to Village Hall, library director Donna Riegel said. She is talking with county officials about moving North Regional's children's program to North Palm Beach while North Regional is closed.

In Lake Park, budget cuts have forced the Park Avenue library to cut staff and hours.

"The closing couldn't come at a worse time," said Mike Kennely, director of the Lake Park library.

The 14 months of inconvenience will be worthwhile, said Palm Beach County Library Director John Callahan.

"Usage at the expanded library will skyrocket. There will be more community space and modern equipment," Callahan said.

A new children's wing is planned, with areas for story time and crafts. The number of computers will be doubled to about 50. The 125-person meeting room, now used for library and other events, will become a community meeting room. There also will be five individual study rooms, and four group study rooms.

And a new-fangled return system called Radio Frequency Identification will allow librarians to rapidly accept returned books and refile them.

When the North County Regional expansion is complete in April 2010, the 40,000-square-foot building will be the largest in the county system. It will be renamed the "Gardens Branch Library."

"Librarians will have more time to do what they are trained for — help people find information," said Callahan.

Seven county libraries — including North County Regional — are planned for new construction and renovations by the end of 2009. The $68 million cost will be paid by the 2002 county voter-approved $55 million bond issue, tax dollars and impact fees, said Callahan.

The county library system has about 400 full-time employees and an annual budget of about $49 million. Last year, county libraries had about 5 million visitors who borrowed about 7.5 million items, said Callahan.

"When economic times are tough, our business goes up," said Callahan. "Libraries are no longer just a place for research. We are community centers. It's a reaction to the Internet. People love technology. But they still crave personal interaction."

For more library information, go to pbclibrary.org or call (561) 233-2600.