Our sister blog (parent blog?) over at the Washington Office of the Secretary of State (we just call them OSOS) had an interesting write-up last week on the increasing use of libraries and, in turn, the unfortunate failure of the local levy lid lift attempted by Timberland Regional Library.

In their story they mention (but strangely don’t link to) a recent study put out by us at the State Library that demonstrates just how much more Washington libraries get used during tough economic times. Of course, if you pay any attention to library stories in the news, or if you’ve looked at your circulation and computer use stats recently, you already knew this.

Even so, the study itself is worth a look, and a great tool to impress your local budgetary decision-makers when it comes time to impress upon them the value of your library to its community.

Since the study came out, many Washington newspapers have picked it up and run stories about the greatness of libraries. Again, something we already knew, but it’s nice to be noticed. If only they’d show such interest all the time, and not just when the going gets tough. If you’re interested, some such local stories include “Libraries’ popularity rises as economy sinks” from Everett’s HeraldNet and “In tight times, libraries renew” from the Tacoma News-Tribune.

If your local paper has been singing the praise of the library, please do share it with us. We always love hearing how much libraries are being appreciated. If your local news source has not picked up on this story, maybe it’s up to you to share it with them?