Omaha World-Herald (Nebraska)
December 25, 2005
Upward, Omaha

Here is something positive as Omaha residents crack open the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" as part of the city's second "Omaha Reads" program: Omaha has some encouraging rankings in the latest analysis of America's "most literate cities."

Compiled annually by Dr. John W. Miller, president of Central Connecticut State University, the ranking of U.S. cities with 250,000 or more residents is admittedly subjective. Still, Omaha, with an overall ranking of No. 31, earned some notable scores in three cases when matched against other cities:

Education level -- Somewhat surprisingly, perhaps, Omaha stood at No. 10. The index included percentages of residents with various levels of education. (Colorado Springs was No. 1, with Seattle at No. 2. Minneapolis was No. 8.)

Booksellers -- Omaha ranked No. 24.

Newspaper circulation -- In the particular model used by Miller, Omaha ranked No. 26.

Omaha had a middle-of-the-pack ranking in regard to libraries (No. 33) and is lagging in regard to periodical publishers (No. 48) and Internet resources (No. 57). But overall, the numbers indicate that this is an energetic city that has enormous potential and is making impressive strides forward.   

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