OH!Libraries: Spotlight on Ohio library services

Architectural student Matt Kidd designed the new mosaic installation at the Puskarich Public Library in Cadiz. The mosaic was dedicated on October 17 in honor of John and Frances Rogers, local citizens whose active generosity often extended to the library.

Inspired by a book that came through the library on interlibrary loan, the installation is constructed of several types of stone, brick, and colored cement, forming the picture of an open book on a multi-colored background.

Most libraries in Ohio are named after the town where the main library is: Centerburg Public Library, Germantown Public Library, Oak Harbor Public Library. These are the easiest to find on the many, many occasions OPLIN staff have every day to find a particular library in a standard list. Many are named after their counties, like Preble County District Library and Adams County Public Library. A couple dozen libraries are named after benefactors, like the Reed Memorial Library in Ravenna, Henderson Memorial Library in Jefferson, or the Mary Lou Johnson-Hardin County District Library in Kenton. Some libraries have the same name -- there are two libraries in Ohio that are called merely "Carnegie Public Library": one in East Liverpool and one in Washington Court House. Both Sunbury and St Marys call themselves simply "Community Library." OPLIN has to take care not to confuse these libraries when we work with them. And we also have to make sure we haven't confused the Wayne Public Library in Wayne with the Wayne County Public Library in Wooster. Or confused the Perry, Perry County, and Perry Cook Memorial libraries.

By statute, Ohio libraries can name themselves anything they want; no one except the local library boards has oversight over that. So the names can change. The Mackenzie Memorial Library is now Madison Public Library (like in the Music Man!), and the Taylor Memorial Public Library is now Cuyahoga Falls Library. So I'm not surprised to learn that trustees of the Akron-Summit County Public Library are considering shortening their name to Akron Summit Library (registration required). If they do this, they will be following in the footsteps of the former Dayton-Montgomery County Public Library and Public Library of Columbus and Franklin County (now just Dayton Metro Library and Columbus Metropolitan Library).

Every year, Thomas Hennen has taken the statistics public libraries report nationally and determined ratings for them within their population categories. Ohio libraries consistently lead the pack. The latest rankings are published this month in American Libraries, and the article is also available from the HAPLR Index website.

Ohio's three largest libraries -- Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cuyahoga County -- all are in the top ten libraries for their population category, with Columbus coming out on top nationally. In all, 21 Ohio libraries appear in the top 10 libraries in their population categories. As Hennen writes in his introduction, "There are, of course, magnificent libraries out there that the data alone cannot find." A quick glance at the complete stats for Ohio shows a number of excellent libraries who fell just short of the top ten list. So I send my congratulations to all libraries, and to the communities that helped make Ohio first in library services.

The full text newspaper and magazine content that Ohio libraries provide just got a makeover. The new Student Research Center from EBSCOhost provides access to the same premium electronic content that has been available for years, but now through an attractive interface designed specifically for the needs of middle and high school students working on homework. Easily search within newspapers, magazines, biographies, TV & radio transcripts, encyclopedias, and more. It even includes quality consumer health information. (Even if you're not a student, give it a try. You might like it better than the usual EBSCOhost interface).

And for younger students in grades K-5, check out the new Kids Search.