I had always heard, that as the economy slips into recession, or even declines, that library use increases. There are even numbers to back that up, based on previous recessions. However, what effect does gas prices sky-rocketing in conjunction with a declining economy have on library usage stats?

I will tell you that at my library, it is having some negative effects. Basically, the majority (about 53% actually) have at least a 10 minute drive to get to the library. Lets say that they drive 5 miles to get to the library. That means that based on 20mpg they are blowing half a gallon to get here and then back home. So, essentially, they are paying almost $2 to go to the library. it would seem that for the demographic that frequents public libraries, that is too much. Our stats are seeing double digit decreases over the last 4 months (both in door count and circs). I will crunch some number here after 12 months, but I suspect there is a direct correlation between gas price and library use... that I can then use to calculate future library use based on gas prices in the future. Should be a fun model.

I wonder if this is going to be a national trend?