FARMINGTON - At night, Head Librarian Melanie Taylor Coombs has noticed, they gather outside the granite walls.

Some sit in lawn chairs and on benches, while others wait in their cars. In every case, a face is lit by the illumination of a glowing screen. University of Maine at Farmington students, townspeople on their way home from work, travelers and tourists looking to check their email.

“Our demand for wireless access is soaring,” Coombs said. “After the building closes, around 9 p.m. or so, if you drive by you’ll see them.”

The Farmington Public Library’s staff considers access to wireless internet to be part of their service to the community, and leave the wireless router on after closing hours. While the after-hours patronage may provoke more curiosity, Coombs said that more laptops have been appearing in the library during the day as well. Usage of the library’s nine desktop computers is also up, with more than 4,000 people signing in annually.

Coombs sees this as a result of the generally tough economic times, where more and more people are foregoing Internet access or personal computers at home. To meet this growing need, the library is planning a series of technological improvements over the next few months.

A state grant to improve the speed of the library’s internet has already been approved, allowing for an increase to 10 megabytes per second (mbps). Currently, library patrons use a standard T1 line, allowing for 1.56 mbps. That upgrade is expected in July.

Meanwhile, additional grant funding through the Gates Foundation will allow for the installation of three more desktop computers. Coombs said she is also hoping to be chosen as one of 11 video-conferencing hubs across the state, which would allow for the installation of some video-conferencing equipment at the library. Organizations could then use the equipment to hold statewide or even national meetings.

That same grant would add six laptops to the computer lab, allowing people who don’t have their own to enjoy the freedom of wireless internet.