Click a state above, or use the drop-down below to jump to the Star libraries in that state.
States with Most, Fewest Stars
The 2015 Star Libraries are found in 41 states scattered across the country geographically. The top five states, ranked by their numbers of Star Libraries, are New York (39), Ohio (28), Illinois (19), Massachusetts (15), and Kansas (12). The top ten states are rounded out by a three-way tie for places six to eight shared by California, Iowa, and Texas (each with 11), Nebraska (9), and Maine (8). Like these top ten states, the remaining 30 Star Library states are spread across the nation and in every major geographical region.
There are no 2015 Star winners in the District of Columbia or ten states: Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Mississippi, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Wyoming.
These states have no Star Libraries for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the number of libraries scored on the LJ Index is at an all-time high, while the number of Star Libraries is relatively constant. So, the competition for Star Library status is tougher than ever. Beyond that factor, there are others: the level at which public library service is organized (DC and Hawaii, for instance, each has a single system, while county and/or regional systems prevail in Georgia, South Carolina, and Wyoming), the relatively lower tax base of most libraries in some states (Mississippi and Oklahoma), and the relatively lower levels of adult educational attainment and therefore literacy in some states. In several of the Star-less states, particularly the Southern ones, more than one of these considerations likely apply.
Please see “Find Your Library” to see how a library not starred did in the ratings or to discover why it was not included.
Star libraries are listed alphabetically below by state abbreviation, then ranked by stars and score. Please note that expenditure category peer comparisons are the critical ones; for the Star Libraries by expenditure category please go to The Star Libraries page.
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