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SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake City Public Library was recently recognized as a five-star library for the fourth consecutive year by Library Journal’s Index of Public Library Service.
The five-star rating, based on circulation, visits, program attendance and public Internet computer use, merits the library one of the best-used libraries in the nation, according to a news release.
The Index of Public Library Service ranked 7,586 libraries nationwide, and divided them into peer groups based on total annual operating expenditures, according to the news release.
The Salt Lake Public Library was one of 10 libraries out of 113 qualified libraries across the nation to earn the highest status in its budget range of $10 million to $29.9 million.
“We try to be a cultural hub for Salt Lake City,” City Library executive director John Spears said in an interview with KSL.com. “We have a staff that is very engaged and very involved in the communities they serve.”
We have a staff that is very engaged and very involved in the communities they serve.
–John Spears
The library offers services like computer classes, book clubs and story time, as well as community events.
Salt Lake City residents aren’t the only people who benefit from the library’s services, however.
“We want to make a concerted effort to make sure we can touch every community in Salt Lake,” Spears said. “It’s a library that belongs to everyone and not just certain people.”
Andrew Shaw, The City Library’s communications manager, said all someone needs to access all the library services is a library card.
“We’re always looking at ways that we can expand our offerings,” Shaw said. “We’ve been expanding our digital collection over the past few years, and it’s reaching a more critical mass of people. They can check out e-books and download magazines from our website, and it’s free to any cardholder.”
Three additional libraries in Utah were included in the 2014 Star Library Index for exhibiting strong overall per-capita library service usage among Utah libraries.
The Grand County Public Library in Moab received a four-star rating in the $400K-$999.9K range, The Salt Lake County Library System received a three-star rating in the $30M+ range and The Lewiston Public Library was rated three stars in the $10K-$499K range, according to the news release.
“We’re in really good company on that list,” Spears said. “These libraries are nationally recognized for their efforts. To be included in the list is a way for our staff to celebrate our own accomplishments.”
