More patrons are using area libraries, though they’re not always walking through the library doors.

Visits to library websites through computers and mobile apps, as well as the use of e-books, are on the rise based on studies and firsthand accounts from area librarians. A recent Pew study reports about 13 percent of Americans 16 and older used a mobile device to visit a library website during the past year, up from 6 percent in 2009.

Still, library officials stress, don’t count out the draw of an actual book in hand.