For the eleventh time, Arlington Heights Memorial Library (AHML) has received a five-star rating in Library Journal's national rating of public libraries. Five stars is the highest rating that a library can receive.
“We are honored to once again receive a five-star rating in this national ranking of public libraries," said Executive Director Mike Driskell. "This award acknowledges the work of our exceptional staff and the community of Arlington Heights that so strongly supports and uses the library."
Library Journal comprises its scores for America's Star Libraries using statistics from eight service criteria: circulation of physical items, circulation of e-materials, library visits, program attendance, public computer users, Wi-Fi sessions, electronic retrievals such as database usage and website visits.
For 2022, 5,359 U.S. public libraries received LJ Index scores and 258 received recognition as three-star, four-star or five-star libraries. The libraries were then grouped according to annual operating budgets and expenditures.
In the expenditure range of $10M-$29.9M, only ten public libraries nationwide earned a five-star rating including AHML, which is just one of three Illinois libraries to receive this top rating in this expenditure category along with Naperville Public Library and Skokie Public Library. Forty-three libraries in Illinois have been named Star Libraries for 2022. Illinois leads the nation as the state with the most star libraries followed by Iowa with 22 star-designated libraries. Regionally, the Midwest has the largest number of star libraries.
This is the 15th year in which Library Journal has scored U.S. public libraries on the LJ Index of Public Library Service and awarded Star Library ratings. The 2022 ratings and scores are based on 2020 data from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Public Library Survey. Read the 2022 Library Journal Index here.