Baltimore County on Wednesday celebrated making the top five on a prestigious national rankings for public libraries this year for the sixth time since the organization began publishing the ratings seven years ago.
Baltimore County Public Libraries placed fifth in the nation on the 2006 Hennen?s American Public Libraries Ratings index for the category serving the largest populations, which included more than 9,000 systems nationwide.
That?s quite a feat, considering Baltimore County serves almost 800,000 customers and operates on a budget half the size of some its competitors, said library director Jim Fish. The county spends $30 million, or about $43 per person, on its libraries.
“We?re both very effective and cost-effective,” Fish said. “So both library customers and taxpayers are getting a good deal.”
The HAPLR criteria targets circulation, staffing levels, funding, hours open, reference services and programs like story time, officials said. The data is collected by 50 state library agencies, compiled by the Federal-State Cooperative System and published in the National Center for Educational Statistics.
The top four libraries systems were Cuyahoga County in Ohio, Multnomah County in Oregon, Columbus Metropolitan in Ohio and Denver in Colorado. Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith presented Fish and other library employees with an executive citation Wednesday in his office to celebrate the national recognition.
“Our libraries are the hearts of our communities, providing important information and responsive customer service to citizens everyday,” Smith said.
