Library earns national honor 6th time

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For the sixth year in a row, The Brumback Library has been recognized as one of the best libraries in the country. The local library has again been given a star designation, one of only 25 libraries in Ohio to be so honored, by Library Journal.

“The Brumback Library is truly honored to have been named a Star Library for the sixth year in a row,” said Library Board of Trustees President Joan Stripe. “Considering the fact that our library, like the state’s 251 other public libraries, has experienced many funding freezes and major funding cuts since 2002, plus significant cuts to the state’s Public Library Fund, it is amazing we have been able to maintain the resources and services that Van Wert County residents have come to know and expect.”

Budgets of libraries across the state have had to be monitored closely as funding from the state has continued to be whittled away. With the cuts in funding, the 0.5-mill levy, approved by Van Wert County voters in 2005 and renewed in both 2010 and 2015, has helped the library greatly.

Although it has not fully compensated for all the financial cuts from the state, the levy has helped Brumback Library meet the ever increasing informational, educational, and recreational reading needs and programming efforts of Van Wert County’s residents.

“We are truly grateful for the support of Van Wert County’s residents in passing the aforementioned levies; such funds are vital to our very existence,” said Library Director John Carr. “The people of Van Wert County once again supported the levy with an overwhelming majority. As always, the doors of the Main Library and its branches in Convoy, Middle Point, Ohio City, Willshire, and Wren are open to one and all.”

Based on the 2014 annual statistics gathered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Library Journal used both federal and state public library statistics to measure the performance of America’s 7,349 public libraries in terms of library visits, circulation, program attendance, and public Internet use.

Compared to libraries with similar operating budgets, 260 public libraries in the United States were recently recognized as a Star Library. The number of stars a library receives, of course, is determined by the total number of points earned in each area.

This year’s Star Library rankings included a new category, E-Circ, which involves the circulation of eBooks and downloadable audio and video resources. The Public Libraries Survey (PLS), a federal-state cooperative project, emphasizes the evolving need to include such statistics, which reflect the expansion and usage of library services in new formats.

“The Brumback Library may have a smaller staff and the Brumback Library may have made other necessary reductions, but we continue to allocate significant funding for the purchase of print and non-print materials, direct services to the public, building maintenance, and programming efforts, such as the library’s annual Summer Reading Program which had over 1,800 participants this summer,” Stripe pointed out.  “The Brumback Library offers a service schedule of 181 hours per week. More than 28,000 Van Wert County residents are registered library card holders.

“Patrons of all ages checked out more than 875,000 items in 2015 alone,” Stripe added. “Between Main Library and the five branch facilities, the Brumback Library’s collection exceeds over 250,000 items. We have been, and continue to be, good, frugal stewards of the funds entrusted to us.”