Patrons have flooded the Calhoun-Gordon County Library recently.

Library Manager, Dianne Cronon, said there has been a record high of 262, 720 visitors in the last fiscal year.

There are usually around 1,100 visitors on a normal basis, but most days it surpasses that number, she said.

Ed Weldon, chairman of the library board, said the numbers typically spike during an economic recession.

Cronon said most patrons are taking advantage of the Internet access to apply for jobs, create résumés, and students are using it to do homework that requires Internet connection.

“We have the highest computer usage in the Northwest Georgia regional system,” said Cronon.

Increased use of the library is not without logistical issues, however. Due to budget cuts, “we have to be frugal,” he explained

The Friends of the Library have been helping keep costs low by selling and buying books; this helps in re-circulating and keeping costs down, he said.

Leah Mabala

Leah Mabala is a frequent member of the library and said she “comes almost everyday for one to two hours” to use the Internet. She said when school gets out it gets very crowded and she likes to go earlier to avoid the traffic.

Brittani Dodd

Brittani Dodd Has lived in Calhoun all her life, but has not been to the library much in the past but will be coming more often now. She said she uses the Internet to find jobs and create a résumé.

Josh Serritt

Josh Serritt said he comes to the library most every day on his lunch hour to use the Internet. He said it does get crowded, but not too much during his lunch hour.

Tara Klein

Tara Klein said she comes to the library once a week with her son Carter to check books out. Klein said she has an easy time accessing everything and the library has good service. Her two chil-dren come to the summer book readings, puppet shows, and other events offered, she said.

Jason Ray

Jason Ray is an employee at the library and said during his past three years of working, the li-brary has had to put in an “a lot more computers over this past year.” He said he has seen an in-crease over the year of patrons using the library. Ray said the library is busiest when it first opens and when school gets out.