Check it out.

That's what users of public libraries are doing in record numbers these days. In an effort to stay entertained and informed without breaking the family budget, Americans across the U.S. are increasingly taking advantage of the best deal in town: everything - books, CDs, even video game sessions - is free.

"When the economy goes down, public library use goes up,'' said John Moorman, director of the Williamsburg Regional Library in Virginia.

While the trend bodes well in the long-term for libraries, whose funding depends on visits and circulation, it is placing strain on branches faced with tighter budgets as counties try to keep spending in check. A growing population of book borrowers also comes at a bad time for retailers such as Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million , whose sales and profits are falling as consumers' discretionary spending shrinks in the face of rising food and fuel prices.

Wall Street analysts say the book industry's troubles are mostly due to the lack of any hit titles for sale, not a surge in library usage.

The American Library Association says usage nationwide was 10 percent higher in the past year than during the 2001 economic downturn, when it tracked a similar spike in visits and circulation. Libraries recorded 1.3 billion visits and patrons checked out more than 2 billion items from April 2007 to April 2008.

At the downtown Charleston branch of the Kanawha County Public Library, Heidi Campbell's 2-year-old son Carter recently scampered from shelf to shelf before settling on a thick book with pictures of baseball players.

"This is something we can do once a week where we don't have to spend any money,'' said Campbell, whose family skipped its summer vacation and has cut back on visits to relatives in Tennessee, in large part because of soaring pump prices.

Librarians around the country say that the recent bump in visits may be the largest in memory.

- In Highland Park, Ill., the library recorded 60,700 items checked out in June - its highest total ever and nearly 4 percent higher than a year earlier.

- Visits to the six branches of the Howard County Library in Maryland have increased by 26 percent over last year.

- The Nancy Carson library in North Augusta, S.C., ran out of cards this summer after issuing more than 100 in two weeks.

Book industry experts say the extra traffic witnessed by libraries does not pose a real threat to the business.

"Book publishers have a lot of challenges, and folks getting their books via the library doesn't even make the first page,'' said Michael Norris, a senior analyst for Simba Information, a Stamford, Conn., media research company. Norris said that when consumer spending in general rises again, book sales will grow, with patrons possibly buying titles they first borrowed from the library.

Check it out.

That's what users of public libraries are doing in record numbers these days. In an effort to stay entertained and informed without breaking the family budget, Americans across the U.S. are increasingly taking advantage of the best deal in town: everything - books, CDs, even video game sessions - is free.

"When the economy goes down, public library use goes up,'' said John Moorman, director of the Williamsburg Regional Library in Virginia.

While the trend bodes well in the long-term for libraries, whose funding depends on visits and circulation, it is placing strain on branches faced with tighter budgets as counties try to keep spending in check. A growing population of book borrowers also comes at a bad time for retailers such as Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million , whose sales and profits are falling as consumers' discretionary spending shrinks in the face of rising food and fuel prices.

Wall Street analysts say the book industry's troubles are mostly due to the lack of any hit titles for sale, not a surge in library usage.

The American Library Association says usage nationwide was 10 percent higher in the past year than during the 2001 economic downturn, when it tracked a similar spike in visits and circulation. Libraries recorded 1.3 billion visits and patrons checked out more than 2 billion items from April 2007 to April 2008.

At the downtown Charleston branch of the Kanawha County Public Library, Heidi Campbell's 2-year-old son Carter recently scampered from shelf to shelf before settling on a thick book with pictures of baseball players.

"This is something we can do once a week where we don't have to spend any money,'' said Campbell, whose family skipped its summer vacation and has cut back on visits to relatives in Tennessee, in large part because of soaring pump prices.

Librarians around the country say that the recent bump in visits may be the largest in memory.

- In Highland Park, Ill., the library recorded 60,700 items checked out in June - its highest total ever and nearly 4 percent higher than a year earlier.

- Visits to the six branches of the Howard County Library in Maryland have increased by 26 percent over last year.

- The Nancy Carson library in North Augusta, S.C., ran out of cards this summer after issuing more than 100 in two weeks.

Book industry experts say the extra traffic witnessed by libraries does not pose a real threat to the business.

"Book publishers have a lot of challenges, and folks getting their books via the library doesn't even make the first page,'' said Michael Norris, a senior analyst for Simba Information, a Stamford, Conn., media research company. Norris said that when consumer spending in general rises again, book sales will grow, with patrons possibly buying titles they first borrowed from the library.

Still, the nation's three biggest booksellers are struggling, with shares trading near 52-week lows.

Barnes & Noble saw second-quarter sales dip 1.6 percent to $1.22 billion and profits fall 14.6 percent to $15.4 million. Books-A-Million's second-quarter sales fell 7.5 percent to $122.8 million and earnings declined 79 percent to $645,000 from $3.1 million.

While Borders Group Inc. narrowed its loss to $9.2 million for the second quarter, its sales fell 6.6 percent to $758.5 million and analysts said competition and a weak economy continue to pose big challenges.

Libraries aren't only being affected by the difficult economy, they're trying to help guide patrons through it.

The Queens Library in New York, which is the highest circulation public library system in the nation, is offering seminars for people facing foreclosure. And in the small California town of Lompoc, which was hit this year by layoffs at local employers, the public library has a computer reserved for people searching and applying for jobs online.

A bad economy is also a mixed blessing for libraries.

In Bartholomew County, Ind., the public library has frozen hiring and postponed buying some new items until 2009. The Jackson-Madison County Library in Tennessee was warned in August it may have to lay off some of its 20 full-time employees. And a proposal by the Long Beach, Calif. city government to save $1.8 million by closing the library's main branch has drawn protests from residents and famed author Ray Bradbury.

The pinch is being felt in communities large and small.

The Tewksbury Public Library, about 25 miles north of Boston, narrowly avoided losing its state accreditation this year because of the drop in staffing hours wrought by budget cuts. "A decrease in funding for the library and staffing hours does not mean a decrease in the use of the library,'' Director Jennifer Hinderer said.

As local governments struggle with falling tax revenues, more libraries could be facing similar threats.

"When the economy gets tough for people, it usually takes a year before it gets tough on counties and municipalities,'' said Jim Rettig, president of the American Library Association and a librarian at the University of Richmond.

Without public support, library budgets can be tempting targets for governments looking to cut.

Consequently, some librarians see the surge as a chance to make people not only habitual patrons, but advocates for libraries.

"It's a good time to educate people about all the benefits the library brings to their community,'' Moorman said.