[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9866]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                          S.C. LIBRARY HONORED

 Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, It is official. The Richland 
County Public Library is the best library system in the country. 
Library Journal magazine and the Gale Group, the Nation's largest 
publisher of reference works for libraries, recently named the Richland 
library the National Library of the Year 2001. The library's executive 
director, C. David Warren, will accept the award on June 18 at a 
ceremony in San Francisco during the annual conference of the American 
Library Association. This honor is the latest in a string of honors 
bestowed on Richland County's system. In 1999, the American Library 
Association chose the library as the No. 1 large library system in the 
Southeast and, in 2000, Hennen's American Public Library Ratings ranked 
it fourth among urban libraries serving populations of 250,000-499,999. 
It was only a matter of time before it earned top billing nationwide.
  Three key factors influenced selection of the Library of the Year: 
service to the community, creativity in developing community programs 
and leadership in creating programs that other libraries can emulate. 
The Richland library shines in each of these areas thanks to the hard 
work of Mr. Warren, his staff, the Friends of the Library group, the 
County Council and voters. In 1989, voters approved a $27 million bond 
referendum used to build a striking new main library on Assembly Street 
and seven new branches. Many Richland County residents already knew 
they had a gem on their hands, but it sure is nice to have that pride 
substantiated by such a prestigious honor. I commend the Richland 
County Public Library for its outstanding service and wish Mr. Warren 
and his staff the best of luck as they continue to build an exemplary 
library system.

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