Robb Murray of the Mankato Free Press finds a silver lining, of sorts, in the economic downturn: Libraries in the Mankato area are seeing more patrons.

Renting movies and using high-speed Internet, in particular, are more in demand as folks have less money to spend on those items.

“I really had expected circulation to level off, but clearly people are trying to find other means of entertainment,” said Lucy Lowry, director of North Mankato’s Taylor Library.

For some, the library simply replaces the video store. But Lowry said it doesn’t take long for other features of the library to catch their eye.

“Maybe some people come in and use it as a video store,” she said. “But I think we have seen people in that category starting to use other services as well.”

Doug Wolfe, lead librarian at the St. Peter Public Library, said his library, as well, has seen an influx in patrons using the place as ground zero for their job hunt.