BOLINGBROOK, Ill. – Fountaindale Public Library District proudly achieved high regards from two respected institutions. The library received word that Library Journal, founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey, ranked Fountaindale as one of just 257 libraries across the nation to receive a star rating. Data was compiled from information provided to the Institute for Museum and Library Services and covered the 2016 fiscal year.
“I am thrilled to see Fountaindale on the Library Journal list this year,” said Margaret J. “Peggy” Danhof, President of the Fountaindale Public Library Board of Trustees, “It’s wonderful to see our library recognized for its service, and I am very proud of our staff and board.”
The rankings cover 7,361 public libraries from across the United States and broke the libraries into nine different brackets based on budget expenditures. Fountaindale was grouped in the $5–$9.9 million bracket. The rankings were based on circulation of materials per capita, visits per capita, program attendance per capita and Internet terminal uses per capita. The library’s three-star rating was a result of its overall score as compared to other libraries in its bracket. Fountaindale’s strongest showing came in program attendance per capita, placing 10th out of the 220 libraries in its bracket.
The library received more good news when they were informed that Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Global Ratings assigned its ‘AA’ long-term rating to Fountaindale’s series 2018 general obligation (GO) refunding library bonds. Proceeds will be used to refund and refinance a portion of the district’s series 2009 GO library building bonds for savings for the taxpayers. The refinancing is the first step in a larger plan to lower the taxes for the voter approved building bonds over the long term.
Standard & Poor’s noted that Fountaindale utilizes conservative budgeting practices for expenditures and has maintained very strong financial performance.
“It’s exciting to see S&P Global recognize our financial best practices,” said Danhof. “Our goal with this process is to save our tax payers money by refinancing these building bonds at a lower interest rate and reducing the principal over the long term.”
About Library Journal
Library Journal is a trusted and respected publication for the library community. Built on more than a century of quality journalism and reviews, Library Journal provides groundbreaking features and analytical news reports covering technology, management, policy and other professional concerns to public, academic and institutional libraries. For more information about the Library Journal Index of Public Library Service 2018, please visit libraryjournal.com.
About Standard & Poor’s
S&P Global Inc. is an American publicly traded corporation whose primary areas of business are financial information and analytics. They provide indexes, ratings, price assessments, analytic models and evaluations to governments, companies and individuals worldwide.
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