“I LOVE the library because it's so easy and convenient to get all the things I want to read, watch and listen to in the format in which I want them,” said Nanette Bentley in a recent email to the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Bentley and other library cardholders know they’ll receive top-rated service at their branch. And this week, the library field’s leading professional publication, the Library Journal confirmed our hometown library is among the best in the nation. The publication recognized the library —for the sixth year in a row — by designating it as a Five-Star Library.
The Library Journal’s Index of Public Library Service is a national ranking system comparing U.S. public libraries on the quantities of services they deliver based on per capita statistics for library visits, circulation, program attendance and public internet use. The Library Journal gives an overall indication of how libraries stack up to their peers nationally.
The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County is among the top two libraries in the country in the $30+ million expenditure category and is one of only five libraries nationwide in its category to receive a Five-Star Library rating. The library is first in the nation among Five-Star libraries in circulation of digital items with 4.37 eCircs per capita – far outpacing other libraries in our category. This year’s ratings were based on 2016 data, which libraries reported to the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
“Circulating books and eBooks are certainly in high demand in Hamilton County,” said Paula Brehm-Heeger, the Eva Jane Romaine Coombe Director of the Library. “But if you’ve walked into any of our 41 locations lately, you’ve noticed things are changing. The library is evolving into a place where creatives, entrepreneurs, community leaders and innovators can mix and mingle with readers. Those are the people who inspire us. We’ll continue to work hard to meet the needs of everyone in our community.”
