YOUR 5 STAR LIBRARY

Thu, 11/05/2015 - 2:12pm by TimG

The Ann Arbor District Library has been awarded the highest ranking a library can achieve in Library Journal’s annual ratings systems of libraries nationwide, and has been named a 5 Star library in LJ’s just-released Annual Index of Public Library Service.

AADL ranks fourth of ten “5 Star” libraries within its operating expenditure category of 10 million to 29.9 million (AADL’s current operating budget is 13.5 million). According to Director Josie Parker, “The Ann Arbor District Library is one of the smallest library systems in the US within its budget category, but it is known in the library industry for its willingness to serve its community in new and unexpected ways without foregoing the tried and trusted.”

Ann Arbor District Library has been ranked a 5 Star library since the rating system began in 2008 and remains the only 5 Star library in Michigan. West Bloomfield Public Library, the other Michigan library to garner a star rating this year, received 4 Stars.

LJ’s Annual Index of Public Library Service collects data that public libraries are required to compile and then sorts and ranks within operating expenditure categories. Hundreds of libraries are included in this ranking. Annual visits, circulation, programming attendance, and computer usage per capita are the measures used to calculate the rankings for each library.

As Josie states, “We are asked all of the time how we accomplish such high use in so many areas with our budget reality. The answer is always the same. Our community is a library loving, fantastic and remarkable one that does not doubt its library's ability to stay relevant in an environment offering many options for learning and playing. We thrive on living up to those expectations.”

“Congratulations. Our stars are YOUR stars."