For its size, the Norfolk Library is one of the best in the world—this is no secret to Norfolk residents. But it has also been recognized for the umpteenth year in a row by The Library Journal’s Index of Public Library Service, which rates libraries according to an arcane, complex and highly accurate metric.

Director Ann Havemeyer attributes the library’s five-star status—shared with only one other library in the state, Greenwich’s—to the extraordinary range and interest of the programs offered throughout the year, many of them sponsored by the Library Associates: Corner Club, summer reading programs, concerts, lectures, monthly art exhibitions and the popular book discussion group.