By JOSEPH FITZGERALD

BLACKSTONE — A public library bustling with patrons is supposed to be a good thing, right?
Not when a lot of those patrons are jobless.

The economy has taken a nose dive and public library usage is soaring.
People who have lost their jobs due to the slumping economy are spending more time in community libraries using the Internet and reading newspapers to find jobs. Still others are using library computers, reading the daily papers and borrowing DVD movies because those are the things they’ve quit paying for at home to save money.
Library directors like Cyndee Marcoux in Blackstone say they are working hard to meet their customers’ needs in a tough economy, but it’s getting more difficult because of limited resources and the likelyhood state aid to local libraries could dry up fast in the months ahead.
“I am surprised, but not shocked. I have worked here for 14 years and have seen the number of library users increase every year,” says Marcoux. “Recently, however, the number of unemployed has increased, accounting for some of this increase in patrons. These people have to make choices between buying groceries or paying for high speed Internet, putting gas in their vehicles or buying the latest bestseller. These choices are leading to a tremendous increase in patronage at libraries throughout the country.”
The number of Massachusetts workers applying for unemployment benefits for the first time last week jumped 1.3 percent year-over-year to 7,800, according to statistics released by the U.S. Department of Labor Friday.
Some 79,600 individuals in the state filed for continuous claims last week, up 16.8 percent over last year.
The latest Massachusetts unemployment rate is 5.3 percent.
The news is even worse in neighboring Rhode Island. Rhode Island’s unemployment rate reached 8.8 percent in September, its worst showing since the last economic recession in 1992 and likely among the worst jobless rates in the nation, according to state figures.
Economists say Rhode Island entered a recession more than a year ago, ahead of the current meltdown on Wall Street. And it has sunk farther and faster than other states. The unemployment rate has increased slightly since August, when it stood at 8.6 percent.
By comparison, the national unemployment rate for September was 6.1 percent.
An estimated 1,300 jobs were lost in Rhode Island between August and September, according to a monthly survey by the state Department of Labor and Training. The number of unemployed now stands at 50,200, a record since state officials began keeping track in 1976.
Local libraries are seeing some of the fallout from those spikes in unemployment in the form of more people using the library’s free public internet to set up email accounts and search for jobs online. Even those who have jobs are coming to the library in droves to take advantage of the free internet because they can’t afford the high-speed service at home.
Either way, libraries like the Blackstone Public Library and Bellingham Puboic Library are a lot more crowded these days.
“We’re hearing stories about people who have given up their internet connection at home because they can’t afford the $50 a month and then  come to the library to use the computers there,” says Bellingham Public Library Director Bernadette Rivard.
“We’ve seen a moderate increase (in patrons) here in Bellingham, but that’s going to happen whenever there’s an economic dowtown,” she said. “People don’t have as much disposable income so instead of going out and buying the latest best seller they’re going to get it at the library.”
This past summer, the Bellingham Public Library’s children’s musueum pass program, which provides discount passes to the Boston Museum of Science, New England Aquarium, Roger Williams Park Zoo and other nearby destinations, was more popular than any previous year because most families are cutting back on gasoline consumption and expensive vacations.
Rivard and her staff are also spending more time helping jobless people with their computer skills because a lot of job searching these days takes place online. That can be a bit daunting for older workers who suddenly find themselves out of work. “This is something they never had to do before so it can be a bit intimidating,” she said.
On a recent Monday morning, Marcoux said all 10 public internet computers in the adult area of Blackstone’s library were occupied, and two of the four young adult computers were also in use.  All of these computers were being used by patrons who either didn’t have a computer at home, or the computer they own wasn’t working, she said.
“The bigger libraries are just as busy,” she said.
The Bellingham Public Library also has 10 computers, which are available for the most part during the morning and early afternoon. But after school lets out (the library is situated between the middle school and high school) it’s a whole other story. Between students looking to use the library’s computers for their homework and adults searching for jobs or checking their email, there can be long lines at computer stations.
Making matters even worse, Marcoux and Rivard said, is the prospect that Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s slashing of more than $1 billion from the state budget could have a trickle-down affect on local libraries in the form of reduced state aid.
Also threatning state funding for public libraries is a Nov. 4 ballot measure - Question 1 - which seeks to lower and then eliminate the state income tax at a time when many residents are tightening personal budgets. If Question 1 passes, according to the Coalition for Our Communities, which opposes the measure, state revenues would be cut by 40 percent.
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) has voted to oppose Question 1 on the basis that its enactment would essentially eliminate library services, programs, networks and entire systems that have made Massachusetts libraries among the strongest in the nation.
Passage of the ballot question, opponents say, would eliminate state aid to public libraries and regional library systems, talking book libraries for the blind and disabled, funding for automated networks and licensed electronic content, matching funds for private fund raising, public library construction program, and Federal Library Services and Technology Act grants and statewide services
Marcoux says that doesn’t bode well for libraries with already limited resources that are trying to meet the needs of more and more people who are relying on those resources because of the economy.
“In addition to the computer users, our regular Monday morning patrons are in reading the newspapers and magazines, many of which are patiently waiting their turn to read the local daily papers,” she said. “Others are browsing through our collection of more than 100 magazine titles. Whether they’re here to pick up a new book, movie, magazine, book on CD or music CD, the library today is a bustling place.”
Marcoux offered some positive news, though. The Blackstone Public Library was recently awarded a $5,000 Equal Access Lifelong Access grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners with funds from the Library Services and Technology Act, a federal source of library funding provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The money from this grant will be used to provide programming, demonstrations and workshops to  members of the community ages 45 and up.
To learn more about these or other upcoming programs contact the library at 508-883-1931or visit the library’s Web site at www.blackstonepubliclibrary.org
“New patrons of all ages come through the doors daily,’ Marcoux says. “Others are regulars who have been coming to the library on a weekly or daily basis all their lives. There are still others who can no longer physically make it to the library so we bring the library to them, through our homebound delivery program. Every week that has gone by since we reopened in our new location in June 2004 has brought more patrons through our doors.”