Residents left in the dark took to the library in droves as they waited for utility crews to restore power across much of town following Dec. 11’s ice storm.

Carl Heidenblad, director of Windham’s Nesmith Library, said he had never seen as many people logging onto the library’s free wireless Internet connection than in the days immediately after the storm.

“I saw more people using the wireless than I have ever seen. Tuesday was really heavy use for the Internet and our wireless,” he said. “Sunday was a little quiet, but Monday was a very busy day. People were coming in to check their e-mail and get work done.”

For Vincent Froio, a representative for Sony who works from home, not having a reliable Internet connection would have meant using up vacation days as he waited for utility crews to restore power at his house. “This has been tremendous,” he said, charging up his laptop and cellphone last week. “I feel as comfortable here, as if I was working at my desk.”

Fellow library-commuter Roger Smith said he had begun doing his work out of the library before the storm hit, but now the reliable source of Internet so close to his still dark house had taken on a new importance.

“Now I don’t have an option. It’s almost critical,” he said. “I do my work and get on (the Internet) and my email. I use the quiet room to get on conference calls. It’s almost like an office for me.”

Without access to the library or their free wireless connection, Smith said he would likely have had to make his 35-mile commute to Boxboro, Mass., through Wednesday morning’s snow-filled roads.

“It’s taken on a whole new critical support role in a community. Being able to come here and do my work, it’s so much safer and more convenient,” he said. “The wireless Internet is the key. I use it for my e-mail and I have voice-over on my PC. The Internet gives me my long distance (communication) capabilities.”

According to Heidenblad, the loss of power for so many in town had also resulted in an upswing in checked-out books. Loaning out just under 900 pieces of material on Dec. 16, he described it as a “pretty darn good day” for the library.

Not all aspects of the library had benefited from the loss of power, Heidenblad said. With so many out of town waiting for power to be restored the library staff had not been able to hold their usual story-hour programs.

The library has also taken on a second role as a local information center since the town lost electricity. Heidenblad said his staff were also busy answering residents’ questions ranging from the latest poweroutage updates to whether the town’s transfer station had reopened.

“A lot of people just think of us that way. We have tried to follow bulletins from the different public safety groups in town, and we’re trying to be prepared to answer those types of questions,” he said. “I think libraries have been pretty popular places the last three or four days.”