The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County has received a lot of exciting recognition lately—including a tribute on Garrison Keillor’s November 29th Prairie Home Companion radio program from Ruth the Librarian!

• Main Library Was the #1 Busiest in the U.S.!
  In circulating more than 4 million items in 2007, our Main Library was the busiest public library building in the country for the fourth year in a row. This is a remarkable accomplishment given Cincinnati’s downtown library loaned more items than the central libraries of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and all other cities across the country.
• The Library Again Ranked Among Best in the Country
  For the third consecutive year our Library has been ranked among the 10 best public libraries in our size category in the Hennen American Public Library Ratings (HAPLR). Compiled each year, these ratings compare data reported by more than 9,000 libraries across the country.
• Our Library 10th Highest Circulating Library in U.S.
  By loaning nearly 14.9 million books and other items in 2007, our Library once again remained among the top 10 circulating libraries in the country, ranking 10th in overall circulation.

A new and improved version of Kidspace, our website for kids was recently launched. In addition to colorful new graphics, the redesigned site offers kids the opportunity to:

• Take polls
• Share jokes
• Contribute book reviews
• Choose from four different color themes
• Listen to electronic storybooks from Scholastic BookFlix or TumbleBooks
• Connect with our homework chat service
• Access an exhaustive collection of "librarian approved" online homework resources
• Recommend websites they like or tell us about books that we should add to our collection

Throughout the redesign planning process, we turned to kids for their feedback about the content and design. Their assistance was invaluable in helping us reshape Kidspace into a more dynamic, kid-friendly resource—we hope you’ll take some time to explore it!

New Convenience
Credit Card Payments Accepted on the Public WebsiteKeeping your Library account up to date just got easier. Now you can use your credit card to pay for fines and certain fees on the library website. You can pay by MasterCard or Visa either offsite or on a library computer by accessing the payment option from the "My Account" link on the homepage.

Good News for Teens
Forgot to return that copy of Stephenie Meyer’s Breaking Dawn on time? Overdue fines just became cheaper for books and magazines designated “teen”. The daily overdue fine per item dropped from 20¢ to 5¢. No, we’re not encouraging teens to bring back their materials late, but we do want to make it less punitive if they can’t get to the Library on time.