Media contact: Mindy Linetzky (415) 557-4252;San Francisco, CA – San Francisco Public Library is excited to announce that it has been chosen as the 2018 Gale/Library Journal Library of the Year. Established in 1992, each year the Library of the Year Award celebrates the library that most profoundly demonstrates service to the community, creativity and innovation in developing specific community programs or have seen dramatic increase in library use and leadership in creating programs emulated by other libraries. To learn more, visit:1 – National Library of the Year 2018 2 – Warriors’ blue and gold library cards 4 – Bookmobiles 5 – Library Commissioners 7 – Open days of the week 28 – San Francisco library locations 89 – Story times offered every week 872 – Staff to serve the public 900 – Summer Stride programs 1,500 – Library programs every month 1879 – First San Francisco Public Library opens 15,513 – Student Scholar Cards 444,491 – Library card holders 3.7 million – Items in the library’s collection 6.6 million – Annual visitors 10.8 million – Annual circulation of materialsFounded in 1876, Library Journal is one of the oldest and most respected publications covering the library field. Over 75,000 library directors, administrators, and staff in public, academic, and special libraries read LJ. Library Journal reviews over 8,000 books, audiobooks, videos, databases, and websites annually, and provides coverage of technology, management, policy, and other professional concerns. Library Journal is a publication of Media Source Inc., which also owns School Library Journal, The Horn Book and Junior Library Guild. For more information, visit www.libraryjournal.com Gale, a Cengage company, provides libraries with original and curated content, as well as the modern research tools and technology that are crucial in connecting libraries to learning, and learners to libraries. For more than 60 years, Gale has partnered with libraries around the world to empower the discovery of knowledge and insights – where, when and how people need it. Gale has 500 employees globally with its main operations in Farmington Hills, Michigan. For more information, please visit: www.gale.com San Francisco Public Library is dedicated to free and equal access to information, knowledge, independent learning and the joys of reading for our diverse community. The library system is made up of 27 neighborhood branches, the San Francisco Main Library at Civic Center and four bookmobiles. For more information, see www.sfpl.org Friends of San Francisco Public Library are a member-supported, nonprofit organization that advocates, fundraises and provides critical support for the San Francisco Public Library. For more information, see www.friendssfpl.org