Cincinnati Magazine said the drive-through is "as beautiful an idea as it is simple. Drive up, pick up, or drop off your books, drive away."

The drive-through service was started in 1983. Library branches in Covedale, Groesbeck, and Harrison also offer drive-through windows.

Ohio Magazine's Best of Ohio issue named the library the "Best Place to Get Lost in the Stacks.''

The library is the largest in Ohio, with a collection of more than 10.2 million books and other items. The magazine noted that "for more than 150 years, the Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County has kept its patrons in the know.''

Also, last year, during a year of budget cuts and reduction in service, Kimber L Fender, executive director of the library, said the number of books and other items borrowed was up 3 percent.

Fender said 14,861,011 books and other items were borrowed last year.

The biggest increases were in DVDs with over 1.5 million titles borrowed, an 86 percent increase over the previous year. CDs showed a 56 percent increase and teen material showed a 28 percent increase, Fender said.

"No only did we see an increase in circulation, but also increases in the use of online resources, our Web page, the number of programs we offered and the attendance at these programs,'' Fender said.

Cycling celebrity visits

The man who has competed in more Tour de France events than any other American will share his experiences later this week. Frankie Andreu, a former captain of the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team, will appear at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Muntz Hall Theater of Raymond Walters College in Blue Ash.

The Queen City Wheels Bicycle Racing Club is sponsoring Andreu in "Behind the Scenes at the Tour de France, An Evening with Frankie Andreu.''

Andreu, who retired from racing at the end of 2000 after a 12-year professional career, will talk about his experiences. He competed in the Tour de France nine times - an America record - and was captain of the American team during Lance Armstrong's Tour de France victories in 1999 and 2000.

Queen City Wheels is a nonprofit organization that promotes bicycle riding and racing in Cincinnati.

Shuttlesworth honored

The Student Internship Program of the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education and Cincinnati Museum Center's Youth Program honored the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth Friday at the Museum Center.

Shuttlesworth was recognized for his lifelong commitment to uplift the human spirit and peacefully pursue equality for all.

Positively kids: Working toward doctorate

Laura Ann Smith has earned a master's degree in biomedical engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and is continuing her education toward a doctorate in the same field. She earned her undergraduate degree summa cum laude from the University of Toledo and had received a fellowship from the National Science Foundation to pursue the doctoral program.

She is the daughter of Joann and Lawrence Smith of Delhi Township.

Anti-gang poster designer

Chanel Adkins, a freshman at Princeton High School, received an honorable mention in the Ohio Anti-Gang poster contest that was part of the annual Ohio Criminal Gang Intelligence Conference.

Her poster is now at the Ohio Attorney General's office and may be used in "Anti-Gang Unit" publications or materials.

New Eagle Scout

Nathan Valenti, of Troop 18 sponsored by St. Saviour Church in Rossmoyne, has achieved the highest rank of the Boy Scouts of America: the Eagle Scout award. For his community service project, he and his crew built an access ramp for a person with multiple sclerosis, allowing the patient to have more access to his yard and the outside.

Nathan, a senior at Sycamore High School, is the son of Trish Valenti of Blue Ash and Douglas Valenti of Wapakoneta, Ohio.

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