Shelf Awareness
Washington, D.C., continued its reign as "America's most literate city," according to the annual study conducted by Central Connecticut State University president John Miller. The study is based on data collected from the largest cities (population 250,000 and above) in the U.S., including number of bookstores, educational attainment, Internet resources, library resources, periodical publishing resources and newspaper circulation.The top 10 most literate cities in 2013 were:
- Washington, D.C.
- Seattle, Wash.
- Minneapolis, Minn.
- Atlanta, Ga. (tie)
- Pittsburgh, Pa. (tie)
- Denver, Colo.
- St. Paul, Minn.
- Boston, Mass.
- St. Louis, Mo.
- San Francisco, Calif.
The study measures quantity, not quality, Miller told USA Today, explaining that quality is "more subjective and harder to verify." When people complain or question his rankings, he counters: "Show me the data." Next year, Miller plans "to take his study global and rank the most literate countries. He predicts that Finland may surprise people," USA Today wrote. Among the highlights of this year's findings:
- Parts of the "Rust Belt aren't so rusty" when it comes to public libraries. Cleveland is No. 1, and Pittsburgh is No. 2, based on the number of branches, volumes, circulation and staff per capita.
- Boston is No. 27 in education levels, despite being home to scores of colleges, because of "its abysmal high school dropout rates."
- Washington, not New York (No. 16 on the overall list), scores highest for the number of magazine and journal publishers "because of all the trade publications devoted to politics and the federal government."
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