Lakewood Public Library Receives Top Honor

Members of the Cleveland Orchestra perform in front of the 5 Star Library's main building last spring.

The Lakewood Public Library has once again been ranked among the best libraries in the nation with a perfect five-star rating from Library Journal. Congratulations are due to the people of Lakewood who have made the Library the center of their community by erecting beautiful facilities, participating in its public forums, attending free classes and entertainments, engaging in early literacy programs, reading scores of books, listening to thousands of songs, watching countless films and making good use of its public computers, wi-fi and online resources. The staff of the Library thank the people of Lakewood for their continued support.

Library Journal's annual index is based on four key statistics, expressed in terms of population: library visits, circulation of materials, use of public computers and attendance of programs. The Library excelled in all four areas and was then compared to other public libraries with a similar annual budget. Qualities that were not counted towards Lakewood's top honor include its exceptionally low costs for circulating each item (among the lowest in the county), its extended hours of operation (the highest in the state), the wealth of its collections (which reflects not only the tastes, but the ambitions of its dynamic community), the loving care that goes into its efforts to welcome children to the world of ideas, and the ambition of its cultural programs.

At the national level, Ohio ranked second among the states with twenty-seven starred libraries, twelve of which earned five stars. New York came in first with thirty-seven and Illinois came in third with twenty. The next six states boast between ten and thirteen and many states had none at all. Congratulations are also due to the Cuyahoga County Public Library System and Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library, which also earned five stars, Cleveland Public Library with four stars and the Rocky River Public Library and Shaker Heights Public Library, which earned a commendable three stars.

To see what the Library has planned next, visit www.lakewoodpubliclibrary.org.