For the second year in a row, the Grand County Public Library has been honored as a “Star Library” by the magazine Library Journal. This year, the library received a four-star rating, based on four usage statistics that are tracked by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Grand’s library ranked as a three-star library in 2011, said library director Carrie Valdes.

The star ratings are based on four per capita service measures: the number of items checked out, the number of people visiting the library, library program attendance, and public Internet terminal usage. Grand is ranked among libraries that operate on a budget of $400,000 to $999,999, according to Library Journal. Three other public libraries in Utah – Salt Lake City, Mt. Pleasant and Lewiston – also received Star Library ratings this year.

Grand was among 262 libraries across the U.S. to be named Star Libraries by the journal. According to the American Library Association, based on numbers collected from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, there are 9,225 public libraries in the U.S. That number increases to 16,698 if each library branch were to be counted as a separate facility, according to Valdes. The journal ranks qualifying libraries as three- four- or five-star libraries.

“They’re really ranking the cream of the crop. It’s a great big pat on the back for us,” Valdes said, adding that Grand’s library improved on all four measures this year.

Recognition is not a new thing for the Grand County Library. In 2006, Library Journal honored the newly built facility as the Best Small Library in America. In 2009, the library was named Utah’s Outstanding Library by the Utah State Library board.