Santa Clara Library system earns prestigious five-star rating for services

District moved from 5th in 2021 to 2nd in 2022

Gilroy Library

By Staff Report

Congratulations to the Santa Clara County Library system and all its staff for a big end-of-the-year honor. The industry publication Library Journal awarded it a 5-Star rating for library services in 2022. The district also received the honor as “Star Library” for the 15th straight year by the publication.

Among the 5,359 public libraries reviewed, the 2022 Index of Public Library Service also ranks SCCLD second in the United States for library systems with budgets of more than $30 million. SCCLD moved from 5th in 2021 to 2nd in 2022.

“This is a wonderful way to wrap up the year and recognize the hard work and dedication of our staff,” said County Librarian Jennifer Weeks.

The factors going into the rankings include library item circulation rates (both physical and eMaterials), library visits and program attendance, public computer users and Wi-Fi sessions, electronic retrievals and website visits, plus service populations.

SCCLD showed the largest improvements from its 2021 score around offerings from its 24/7 Online Library. This came from promotion of the valuable resources available within the Online Library, as well as the online eCard registration platform for non-library cardholders during the pandemic.

SCCLD increased the number, variety, and provided easy accessibility to eBooks, eMagazines, eAudiobooks, databases, and other resources offered. SCCLD also had a higher circulation of physical materials, even compared to other systems with almost twice the population.

“The thoughtful services, resources as diverse as the people of the county, and most importantly, the commitment of every person working for the library district to serve their communities — all make it a five-star organization and now the #2 library district in the nation,” said Mike Wasserman, when he was president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and president of the Library Joint Powers Authority Board.