Best Small Library in America 2007 Named by Library Journal

NEW YORK -- Honoring its excellence in providing access to knowledge and learning for residents and visitors, the Grand County Public Library in Moab, Utah, has been given the Best Small Library in America Award. The award, now in its third year, is co-sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Library Journal.

Nearly eight out of 10 public library systems serve rural areas or small towns. Their communities have lower literacy rates and lower Internet connectivity rates than more populated communities, yet library staff often have small budgets and few resources with which to overcome these challenges. The Best Small Library in America Award, given to public libraries serving populations under 25,000, encourages and showcases exemplary work that can draw attention to the value of small libraries across the country and help motivate private and public funding sources to support local libraries.

The Grand County Public Library received accolades for its approach to providing efficient computer and Internet services to a busy and diverse population including a high volume of tourists, and igniting skyrocketing library use. The library has created a thriving, yet cost-effective technology infrastructure that dedicates computers to various user groups—for example, researchers, children, and email-only users—and controls heavy demand for online access through the use of “pagers” that tell patrons when their session starts. Serving 4,800 of the county’s 8,826 residents, the newly constructed library is also an environmentally sound structure that serves as a virtual “living room” for patrons.

The library completed a new building in June 2006, after a successful bond measure that received a remarkable 71 percent passage from Grand County's normally tax resistant residents.

“The Grand County Library is a testament to the enduring importance of public libraries in all communities,” said Jill Nishi, program manager of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s U.S. Libraries initiative. “Its example can help inspire the work of thousands of other rural libraries that endeavor to meet community needs and increase support for their services.”
 
The Grand County Public Library will receive a $15,000 cash award to further its work in the community. To read a feature article about the library and the award, please visit the Library Journal Web site.