A new library on the south side and the economic downturn are making the city's three public libraries more popular. Visits jumped about 14 percent in the year ending in July. And the total "gate count" was up nearly 8,500 for the last six months of the year, even though the LaFarge Branch was closed for five weeks during the fall.

"When the economy goes down, library use goes up," said Pat Hodapp, city library director. "People are creative. They are going to find a way. They are really looking at ways to cut down the costs just a little bit."

While many families are selecting from among the hundreds of free movies on DVD, other patrons are turning to the library for assistance with job searches.

"I hate to use the term desperate, but it's desperate out there," Hodapp said, explaining how library staff are pointing people to books about résumés and cover letters as well as setting up Web-based e-mail accounts for those who need to apply for jobs online.

Library computers and reference books are also highly popular with students, she said.

"The public library is also the schools' library," she said. "Kids come in at night to do their homework, and if we know the curriculum, we buy books that go with it for both high school and elementary school."

About 873,000 visitors came through library doors between June 2007 and July 2008, the city's fiscal year. That was a 14.36 percent increase over the previous year.

The trend was also up in the last six months of the year, when the number of library visitors increased from 421,222 to 429,718. The Southside Branch Library, which opened in early 2007, is booming, Hodapp said. The gate count increased 30 percent, from 59,490 to 85,060 during that time.

Library patrons can check out up to four DVDs at a time, and the number of video checkouts in the last six months attests to a continuing trend. About 10 percent more videos were circulated between July and December 2008 as the same time period in 2007.

While about 81,680 people in the city and county have library cards, the Santa Fe libraries are also frequented by out-of-town guests.

On Friday, Richard Sellman used a computer at the Main Library to locate and print his boarding pass for a flight home to the San Francisco Bay area. Mary Ellen Blakely signed up to use a computer for the same reason, except that she was planning a flight to Los Angeles.

"If you don't have a computer where you are staying and you are not one of those people who carries your technological gadgets, you can use the library," Blakely said.

Children's programs remain a strong component of library use, and children's books make up about one-quarter of all circulated items.

In the Children's' Room downtown, Leona Skye Hooper and her mother, Carol, are regular visitors.

"Let's get some new books," Leona said as she came through the arched doorway ahead of Carol on Friday.

Leona, who will turn 2 years old this month, then grabbed a wooden puzzle and carried it to one of the room's short-legged tables.

"We have a large collection of books at home," Hooper said. "It's nice to be able to check out books too ... and fun for her to come because she gets to play with other kids. And it's something to do indoors when it's chilly outside. We come to story time a lot."

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.