Lib(rary) Performance » Library ratings

Safe from the Temptations of Public Libraries

raylyons — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:09:31 +0000

In a letter published in Library Journal in 1908 U.K. librarian James Duff Brown was puzzled by comparisons of British and American public library statistics. He noticed that the number of registered borrowers per capita among prominent U.S. libraries seemed inordinately high when compared with British libraries. 1907 statistics for East Orange, NJ indicated that 50% of its residents were registered patrons, an extreme percentage that Brown observed would be impossible in the U.K. because “70 per cent [of U.K. residents] are too old, too young, too illiterate, too high-class, or in jails and workhouses, safe from the temptations of public libraries.” (Library Journal, Vol 33, No 10, Oct. 1908, p. 395.)

In a Library Journal issue later that year American librarian Frances Rathbone clarified the East Orange, NJ registration figures and suggested a modified statistic that might help in comparisons with U.K. data. [Read more...]

Library Ratings Are Low-Res

raylyons — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:56:21 +0000

These past several months the LJ Index of Public Library Service has been in the news in all regions of the USA, showcasing libraries that excel in providing services to their communities. So, it was troubling to see that the Index became newsworthy in a conflict between a library director and library board. A Library Journal article reports that the library is a 2009 LJ Index 5-Star winner and runner-up for LJ’s Best Small Library 2008 award.

I can’t vouch for the evaluation process used in the Best Small Library awards. But I do know that LJ Index ratings are no basis for drawing specific conclusions about the performance of the director or the library. Perhaps their perform- ances have been exemplary, or perhaps unsatisfactory. It seems that LJ Index Star status would support the director’s side of this painful debate. Nevertheless, at the risk of sounding like a broken mp3 file, I have to repeat the caveat that my colleague Keith Curry Lance and I … [Read more...]