More people checking out the library to save money

But she wasn't at Borders or Blockbuster. She was perusing the aisles of the Los Feliz branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, a place she's been visiting a lot more lately to save money.

Downie, 25, recently canceled her $16 monthly Netflix subscription and is trying to resist the temptation to buy books, instead checking out movies and books from the library.

"It's a great way to cut costs without having to sacrifice anything," she said.

Stores may be quiet these days, but libraries are hopping as people look for ways to save money.

The Los Angeles Public Library is "experiencing record use," said spokesman Peter Persic, with 12% more visitors during fiscal 2008, which ended June 30, than the previous year. Patrons checked out 17.2 million books, DVDs, CDs and other items during that period, a 10% increase. Some branches report even bigger increases recently; in October, for example, the Palms branch saw a 27% increase.

"Traditionally, in tough economic times, public libraries experience an upswing in use," Persic said.

At the San Francisco Public Library, about 12% more items were checked out in October than a year earlier. Chicago's public library system experienced a 35% increase in circulation. The New York Public Library saw 11% more print items checked out (a spokesman said that could be partly explained by extended hours).

"I haven't bought anything from Borders in quite a while," said Christopher Lutz, a freelance makeup artist who was browsing the Los Feliz branch for DVDs and books. With the writers' strike and potential actors' strike, he said, he's being especially careful about where he spends his money.

Websites such as PaperBackSwap.com that enable readers to exchange books for free are also becoming more popular. PaperBackSwap founder Richard Pickering said the site had seen a 25% increase in traffic in the last three months as people trade, rather than buy, books in an effort to save money.

As one of the few places with free Internet access and public computers, libraries also see an upswing in traffic from job hunters when unemployment starts to rise, said Camila Alire, president-elect of the American Library Assn. Last year, only 44 of the top 100 U.S. retailers accepted paper applications filled out in stores, she said, which means that applicants need the Internet.