CANTERBURY, Conn. (AP) - Kelsey Casey, director of the Canterbury Public Library said that “libraries battle the idea that they’re obsolete.”

“Instead of being a quiet place with dusty books, we’re more of a community center,” she said.

Canterbury Public Library announced in a press release that they’ve doubled their library attendance over the past two years. They’ve credited this to a variety of library programs, and to technological improvement.

Cathleen Special, the assistant director of Otis Library in Norwich, said that role of libraries in the community is to keep people up to date with technology, and to provide resources for people in the community.

“It’s the technology itself, but it’s also what you can do with it” she said.

Casey also thinks providing resources in important.

“We live in a very consumerist society,” Casey said. “The library is the one place where everything we offer is free.”

The press release pointed out two ways that the Canterbury Public Library expanded their technology offerings. One way was with increasing their internet speed. Casey said that the typical resident of Canterbury is only able to access 30 mbps (megabits per second), as it’s not offered in town.

However, Casey said the Canterbury Public Library is able to get 125 mbps due to being a part of the Connecticut Education Network.

“It’s so much master than what people can buy, even if they wanted to,” she said.

Casey said that the people who use the internet at the Canterbury Public Library range from young to old.

Barbi Gardiner, the IT manager and social media manager for Otis, said that her library’s internet capabilities are also important for Norwich. Many people come to the library for help with getting a job. This can include learning how to use the computer, working on resumes and applying for jobs.

“The Norwich community is a lot different than the Canterbury community, in terms of community needs,” she said.

In the interest of attracting teens to the library, Canterbury Public Library has an Oculus Rift VR headset. Casey said this attracts younger library goers. She said they “love” a game on the system called Beat Saber. It is a music game that has players hit visual representations of notes in a song, while avoiding obstacles.

“They’re a hard group to nab, “Casey said about teenagers, “especially with the pre-conceived notion that libraries are boring and have nothing to do.”

Gardiner mentioned that Otis Library has thought about getting a VR headset. However, they do hold youth-focused technology programs in the summer. Otis invites the Rhode Island Computer museum to teach sessions on coding and robotics.

Claudette Stockwell, the director of the Killingly Public Library, said they also run coding classes. Like Canterbury, Killingly also reports an increase in attendance. Stockwell said there’s been a 35% increase in library attendance.

“We’re far from dead,” she said.

However, Stockwell credits the increase in attendance to participation in activities, like the genealogy club, and using facilities, like the study rooms.

Libraries in the area even still have support for older technologies. Gardiner mentioned that Otis has a media conversion station, which helps people convert their old VHS tapes to DVDs or digital files. Casey said that the public still makes use of Canterbury’s fax machine.

The libraries even offer digital copies of books from their respective websites. However, there are people still like the feeling of a good old-fashioned book. Casey said that people still come into the Canterbury Public Library to ask for suggestions and tell the librarians what they thought of the book.

“There’s something nice about having a physical copy,” Casey said.

Online: https://bit.ly/2MG6XEN

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Information from: Norwich Bulletin, http://www.norwichbulletin.com

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