Ohio is a major presence in an annual ranking published by the trade publication Library Journal, and many of the top stars are right here in our region.
Each year, about 8000 public libraries across the country are examined according to such things as circulation, public access internet usage and program attendance. The top institutions are assigned three to five stars, and are ranked according to their spending budgets. Among the nation's largest libraries --- with budgets over 30-million-dollars --- Cuyahoga County was judged best, Cincinnati's Hamilton County system was rated number two, and Cleveland Public came in as number four in the country.
Among the smaller libraries in our region, Cleveland Heights, Hudson, and Lakewood, also got the elite five-star rating, as did Rock Creek Public Library in Ashtabula County.
