The Library Journal has awarded Page Public Library five stars – its highest rating – on its list of America's Star Libraries for 2022. Only one other library in Arizona, Phoenix Public Library, has been given the top rating. 

The last time Page Public Library earned five stars was 2015, when it was the only library in Arizona to achieve the rating. 

The Library Journal Index of Public Library Service rates U.S. public libraries based on selected per capita output measures, including circulation, library visits, program attendance, internet computer use, public Wi-Fi sessions, electronic retrievals from online databases, and library website visits.

At the Page City Council meeting on Feb. 22, Director of Communication and Recreation Services Lynn Cormier said Page Public Library “has done phenomenal things.” She led council members and city management in recognizing library staff for their hard work in achieving the rating.

“[Page Public Library] was one of the few libraries that did stay open over the entire pandemic. We didn’t close one day,” Cormier said. “We switched to curbside service and helped the community as much as we could.” 

Cormier added that she and Page Public Library Director Debbie Winlock were “ecstatic” to learn that the library had been given the top five-star rating. 

The Library Journal “compiles data from just about every library in the United States, and it is difficult to get a five-star rating,” she said. “It’s in comparison to every other library in the United States. This year Page Public Library was one of two libraries here in the state of Arizona to win this prestigious award. The other one was the Phoenix Public Library. You can imagine the staffing and the funding that they have, so it’s kind of nice to be in that same arena with them.”