WPL is 5-star, again

06 Dec WPL is 5-star, again

It’s not a surprise, but it’s cause for celebration. Telluride’s Wilkinson Public Library has been named a five-star library once again in Colorado. 

Wilkinson Public Library is the only Colorado library and one of only 13 public libraries nationally to receive Library Journal’s Five Star Ranking 10-years in a row.

This year’s rating is based on 2015 data and is ranked based on per capita circulation, visits, program attendance, public internet computer use, and for the first time, electronic circulation.

Library Director Sarah Landeryou: “It’s an incredible honor to be among the top public libraries in the nation.  This recognition is a reflection of the staff’s genuine commitment and pride in providing the community with a top-notch public library.  We love trying new things, introducing new programs, and also just being a library that can be used by all ages and all members of the community.”

Wilkinson Public Library listens to the community and responds.  The library recently completed a renovation to provide additional meeting rooms, an improved teen area and more seating in quiet zones.  Library staff has also increased outreach and services for the Spanish-speaking community and had great success hosting the region’s first community reading program, “One Book, One Canyon” featuring Reyna Grande and The Distance Between Us, a memoir on immigration and its challenges.

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. To receive a Library Journal Index score, a library must have a legal service area population of at least 1,000; spend at least $10,000 annually; and report all of the data required to calculate its score. Eligible libraries are grouped by total operating expenditures and then, within each of those groups, rated based on how those five measures compare to the peer group’s averages.

Over the ten editions of this article, 606 libraries have been named Star Libraries in one or more years. A total of 69 received Stars in each of the ten editions. Of those, 13 U.S. public libraries earned five-star ratings every year.

“The Wilkinson Public Library is unique as a resort-town public library in that we serve locals and visitors alike with the same quirky, independent and welcoming spirit.  Perhaps it is because of our secluded location, literally in a box canyon, that propels us to think out-of-the-box to provide services, programs and resources to match our spectacular scenery,” says Landeryou.

San Miguel Public Library District #1 (the official name for WPL’s coverage area) services a population of just more than 6,500 in five communities within district boundaries. In 2015, the year from which the statistics are used for this year’s rating, Wilkinson Public Library had 272,273 library visits, 230,900 materials circulated, 50,852 people (of all ages) attending programs, 45,132 public internet computer uses, and 9,899 materials in electronic circulation.  WPL had increases in all areas from 2014 aside from Public Internet Computer use as wireless use climbs and use of library computers drops.