The following is a press release from the King County Library System:

The King County Library System received a five-Star Library rating from Library Journal (LJ) in its 13th annual review of U.S. public libraries. KCLS is one of five libraries in its category to receive five stars from the LJ Index of Public Library Services. Out of the 5,608 public libraries that LJ reviewed, KCLS was one of 262 to earn the Star Library title.

These ratings reflect overall excellence across seven categories, based on per-capita statistics, including: physical circulation; circulation of electronic materials; library visits; program attendance; public internet computer use; Wi-Fi sessions; and—new this year—electronic retrievals. The new category measures the use of online content, including databases, and will help build a more complete picture of digital library use.

A Star rating not only means that the library delivers a strong return on investment, it also shows that KCLS is one of the strongest performers among its peer library systems across the country.

“KCLS is pleased to be named a five-Star Library once again,” said KCLS Executive Director Lisa Rosenblum. “We are committed to providing the highest standard of service to all King County residents, and are proud to be recognized nationally by Library Journal for our performance.”

The 2020 ranking is based on fiscal year 2018 data collected from the Institute of Museum and Library Services Public Library Survey.