No longer a subtle influence in the community churning out bookworms, libraries nationwide are now churning out job candidates. The Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library is no exception. Here are three ways your library has responded to the unemployment trend:

1. The Jobs & Careers Neighborhood. Due to popular demand, we recently moved job-related items in our collection to an easily accessible area in the west wing of the library. With the addition of this neighborhood, we expect circulation of these already popular materials, including our Job Search Kits, to increase 30 to 50 percent.
2. Programs. We recently launched How to Find a Job 101. In addition, we are partnering with local organizations to bring the community Toolkit 4 Life, Kansas Career Pipeline and Skillbuilders, all focused on life, employment and financial betterment.
3. Training and Access. Librarians provide one-on-one and classroom training that assist job seekers in learning and honing computer skills and communication techniques. Customers turn to us every day for help filing for unemployment online or filling out an online application. According to a 2009 study, less than 44 percent of the top 100 U.S. retailers accept in-store paper applications. 73 percent of public libraries report they provide the only free access to the Internet in their communities. This rises to 83 percent for rural libraries.

The role of libraries in a poor economy was the recent topic of the Today Show story featured above. NBC Today Show Host Matt Lauer and NBC's Peter Alexander examine this issue on a national level, including some not-so-positive trends in the library business.