Naperville Public Library Gets 5-Star Accolade

NAPERVILLE, IL — Naperville Public Library has been awarded 5 stars from the Library Journal Index for its 10th consecutive edition. It's one of 13 libraries nationwide that have received the distinction for each of the 10 editions.

The Library Journal Index is a national rating system designed to recognize and promote America’s public libraries, to help improve the pool of nationally collected library statistics, and to encourage library self-evaluation, according to its website.

“I think the key to NPL’s success is the high customer satisfaction we provide,” said Executive Director Julie Rothenfluh. “The members of our community love the library and get every use they can out of it.”

The index measures circulation, e-circulation, library visits, program attendance and public internet computer use. LJ Index scores take into account proportional relationships between each library’s statistics and the averages for its expenditure ­category.

Naperville ranked No. 4 out of all the libraries with expenditures ranging from $10 million to $30 million, and was surpassed by Arlington Heights. Illinois ranked No. 3 on the list of states with the most starred libraries with 22, closely following Ohio (25) and New York (31). Other Illinois towns with five-star library ratings are: Elmhurst, Arlington Heights, Elgin, Skokie, Pembroke Township and Oak Park. Naperville's library boasts 11 visits per capita, according to the website.

This year, 7,409 U.S. public libraries qualified to be rated in the Index. In this edition, there are 259 Star Libraries, each receiving three, four, or five-star designations.

Image of 95th Street Library, courtesy of Naperville Public Library