Renting a few movies from Blockbuster and buying a bag of popcorn will put you back at least $15.
A new hardcover book from Barnes and Noble costs around $26.
Maybe all of your family shares one computer and would buy that new laptop if economic conditions were better.
What’s your recourse when ends are barely meeting?
Well, there’s always the library, where residents can take out books, movies and use Web-wired computers free of charge.
In these times of economic woe, more and more residents are turning to the Orion Township Library for these types of needs.
According to Karrie Roever, a coordinator at the library, usage at the Orion library is up 12 percent. The figure is calculated by the number of items taken out through circulation.
‘We have seen an increase in everything,? said Roever. ‘People are turning to the library to borrow books instead of buying them from Borders and Barnes and Noble. We also see people coming in to use our computers and the Internet or wireless, as cancelling home Internet access is a great way to save money.?
While it makes financial sense for cash-strapped families to look for free services, the ‘free? is nominal, of course, as the library is funded through taxpayer dollars.
According to Linda Sickles, the director of the library, 97 percent of their revenue comes from property taxes. She said 2010 is expected to be rough, with the library operating on between 10 and 15 percent of what they did this year.
Their 2009 budget was $2,852,000 of which approximately $2.6 million came from township tax money at 1.41 mills.
So, as companies like Borders and Barnes and Noble struggle, a burden is laid on taxpayer-funded services like the library.
More users means more work for the library.
‘The librarians have more people to assist, and our support services staff, who make sure all of the books and media are available and help patrons check them in and out, are busier than ever,? Roever said.
Gene Williams, the head adult services librarian, said she started noticing increased usership beginning last fall, when the economy first started to falter.
‘Afternoons are very busy,? she said. ‘There’s more people and way more computer use.?
On a recent evening, each computer hub was filled and four people were left waiting their turn.
‘That was never a problem before,? Williams said.
One of the more popular uses of the computers these days is job-hunting.
Allen Fleming, an Oxford Township resident, is an unemployed automotive worker who uses the Orion library computers for many things, including looking for work.
‘I’m taking advantage of it,? he said. ‘I helps me look for jobs.?
For students like Mike Sample, who comes to the library around four nights a week to use computers for school work, visits will become much less frequent once he can afford his own.
‘Once I get a laptop, I’m out of here,? he said.