With the popularity of electronic books, and budget cuts a very real possibility, Marathon County Public Libraries are working to stay ahead of the technology curve.

The 8-libraries in marathon county have a 2010 budget of just more than 3-point-6-miillion dollars, that's down from last year.

Despite the budget reduction, the libraries had a record year in 2009--with more than 1-million items checked out.

The Marathon County Public Library in Wausau offers downloadable e-books for customers with handheld devices and they offer a free high speed internet connection, along with a large selection of d-v-d's and c-d's.

Marathon County Board Supervisor and Library Board member, Ken Day, says the libraries do a great job of keeping up with technology.

But with budget cuts on the horizon for all county services...he says library leaders need to think about the future.

"As the world continues to change, there's a greater and greater amount of information available electronically, it'll be imperative that the marathon county library stay current or ahead of the trend", explains Day.

Marathon County library Director Phyllis Christensan says whether you use the libraries or not, they are vital to the community.

"It's a service to the community, it's like the school system, maybe you don't have kids in school but as a society we see the value in having an educated population", says Christensan.

Since january, nearly two hundred thousand people have visited the Marathon County Public Library in Wausau.