Sandy Vondrak, left, helps her six-year-old daughter Lizzy find a book Thursday while searching the children’s section of the Waukesha Public Library.

WAUKESHA - With the economy continuing to flounder and families finding it harder and harder to make ends meet, more people are turning to their local libraries for budget-friendly entertainment options.

The Waukesha County Federated Library System is seeing an increase in usage from residents looking for an inexpensive way to have fun and educate themselves.

Tom Hennen, system director, said circulation is only up 1.2 percent in the past year, but since 2000 - when there was another recessionary period - usage has been up 50 percent. Numbers for other usage indicators, such as participation in summer reading programs, are not in yet, Hennen said, but libraries across the system have been reporting strong participation this year.

"A good example is our summer reading programs for kids," he said. "If you go by the parking lots at Disney World or Great America, the parking lots aren’t full because it’s too expensive for a lot of people now, but they can afford to take a summer reading program that provides good entertainment."

According to Hennen, library usage during hard economic times has been a truism ever since the Great Depression. When people are looking for ways to cut expenses, one of the first places they look to cut is getting rid of magazine subscriptions and they stop buying books.

By going to the library, people can still read new books and their favorite magazines, but for free, he said.

Sue Brown, circulation director for the Brookfield Public Library, said the July circulation numbers weren’t ready as of Friday, but in the second quarter of this year, circulation has been up about 3.8 percent since last year. She said in the last month, the number of people coming in to use computers to browse the Internet was up 12.8 percent and people utilizing the library’s wireless Internet collection was up 10 percent.

"We do see some fluctuations with the economy so we’re expecting more people to come and use us and we’re ready for it," she said.

Jane Ameel, director of the Waukesha Public Library, said some usage numbers aren’t up since last year, but she credits this to new libraries built in surrounding communities. While it may seem concerning that numbers at Waukesha are not up, Ameel said it’s a good thing because the additional libraries take capacity pressure off Waukesha, which sees its summer program participation numbers at capacity.

However, those who are coming in are also using the library’s resources to find other ways to save money.

"One of the reference librarians told me that there are people coming in to research biodiesel," she said. "Others have come in looking to research how to fix things or how to put in their own deck or tile a floor so they don’t have to pay someone to do it."