LITERACY COMPARISON
Columbus drops a spot in rankings
November 30, 2005
Joe Blundo

If knowledge is power, Columbus got a little weaker in the past year, slipping from 11th to 12th on an annual literacy list.

Or maybe other cities just grew stronger.

Yeah, that’s it.

‘‘It isn’t so much that you fell as that others had higher rankings," said Mark McLaughlin of Central Connecticut State University, whose president ranks literacy in big cities based on six factors.

Besides, in a head-to-head comparison with 68 other cities boasting populations of 250,000 or more, 12 th seems perfectly respectable.

‘‘I would take that," said LeRoy Boikai, program director for the Columbus Literacy Council. ‘‘I think if you consider Columbus’ standing in terms of libraries nationwide and factor in other things . . . I’d take that as a good rating."

American Libraries magazine recently rated the Columbus Metropolitan Library system No. 1 in the nation.

Library resources represent one of the factors that university President John Miller uses to measure a city’s literacy. The others: number of bookstores, periodical publishing resources, newspaper circulation, education attainment and — new this year — Internet resources.
Seattle, rich in Internet cafes and software engineers, won the national title, outsmarting 2004 champ Minneapolis (second this year).

Other Ohio cities and their 2005 rankings: Cincinnati, ninth; Cleveland, 18 th; and Toledo, 26 th.

The talk in Seattle yesterday was less about literacy and more about the weather.
Said a convention-bureau spokeswoman: ‘‘We’re getting threats of snow, which in Seattle is like a national event."

jblundo@dispatch.com    

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