<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<META NAME="Generator" CONTENT="MS Exchange Server version 6.5.7653.38">
<TITLE>Multnomah County Library recognized as "American Star Library" </TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<!-- Converted from text/rtf format -->
<P><FONT FACE="Arial">February 24, 2009</FONT>
</P>
<P><U><FONT FACE="Arial">For immediate release</FONT></U>
</P>
<P><FONT FACE="Arial">Contact: Penny Hummel, Marketing & Communications, 503.988.5498, </FONT><A HREF="mailto:pennyh@multcolib.org"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial">pennyh@multcolib.org</FONT></U></A><FONT FACE="Arial"> </FONT>
</P>
<P ALIGN=CENTER><B><FONT FACE="Arial">Multnomah County Library recognized as an “American Star Library” </FONT></B></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Arial">PORTLAND, OR — Recently, the national library publication<I> Library Journal</I> unveiled the results of a new assessment tool for public libraries – and Multnomah County Library was the only library in the Pacific Northwest (and one of only a handful of U.S. libraries of its size) to receive five stars—the highest ranking possible. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Arial">According to Director of Libraries Molly Raphael, “We know that in these tough economic times, people need libraries more than ever. While being recognized as one of “America’s star libraries” is wonderful, it’s really only a reflection of how frequently people in our community turn to their library for the information and resources they need." </FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Arial">The </FONT><A HREF="http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6629180.html."><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial">LJ Index of Public Library Services</FONT></U></A><FONT FACE="Arial"> ranks libraries based on four per capita output measures: visits, circulation, program attendance and public Internet computer use. When compared with other large urban library systems in the U.S., Multnomah County Library was ranked #1 in circulation per capita, an honor the library consistently achieves year after year. </FONT></P>
<BR>
<P ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE="Arial"># # #</FONT></P>
<BR>
<P><FONT FACE="Arial">Penny Hummel, MLIS</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Arial">Marketing & Communications Manager</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Arial">Multnomah County Library</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Arial">205 NE Russell St.</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Arial">Portland OR 97212</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Arial">ph: 503.988.5498</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Arial">fax: 503.988.5441</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Arial">e-mail: pennyh@multcolib.org</FONT>
</P>
<P><A HREF="file://www.multcolib.org"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial">www.multcolib.org</FONT></U></A><FONT FACE="Arial"> </FONT>
</P>
<BR>
</BODY>
</HTML>