Most literate cities in the US

Central Connecticut State University has just come out with its annual list of the most literate US cities. This is the fifth year of the study, in which Seattle has come out on top for three of those years. Minneapolis beat it out for top honours in 2007.

The rankings are based on the following per capita factors:

• Number of booksellers
• Education level
• Number of internet book orders and visitors to the city’s newspaper Web site
• Number of libraries, volumes held, circs and library professional staff
• Newspaper circulation
• Number of magazine publishers

The top five cities in terms of libraries are:

1. Cleveland, OH

2. St. Louis, MO

3. Pittsburgh, PA

4. Seattle, WA

5. Cincinnati, OH