Comments on: New England Star Libraries https://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/2009/03/03/new-england-star-libraries/ or, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Fear and Loathing at a Public Library Reference Desk Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:42:51 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.5.3 By: lesbrarian https://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/2009/03/03/new-england-star-libraries/#comment-877 Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:42:51 +0000 http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/?p=583#comment-877 Hi there. I’m a public librarian at a 5-star library, and while I’d like to disclaim up front that I know I work at a good library (I moved here deliberately because I knew the library by reputation), I’m not wild about LJ’s star system. It’s impossible to control for the factors they chose, for one thing. Like you pointed out, touristy areas do better (and my town is a major tourist desination). Another thing: length of time on computers makes a difference. Libraries that limit usage to thirty minutes would, theoretically, cycle through twice as many sessions as libraries that limit to sixty minutes.

More generally, I’m uncomfortable with the idea of judging libraries by four impersonal criteria. Program attendance, for instance, does not speak to the quality of the program. On Thursday I offered a program on how to apply for jobs online. Only six people showed. The numbers were disappointing, but I’d like to think it was a good program. I’d also like to think that libraries that make a concerted effort to help the community during rough economic times are better serving their mission than libraries that aren’t doing anything special.

Or– sorry to be long-winded– what about things that you simply can’t measure statistically? People who find me at the reference desk and ask for a good book will get good service. This is because I read a lot, and because my library actively supports and promotes readers advisory. Other libraries, through lack of funding, or indifference, or whatever, don’t make RA a priority.

At any rate, I think the most important measures of a library’s worth are too abstract to reduce to simplistic statistics.

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By: Star libraries « The Geeky Librarian https://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/2009/03/03/new-england-star-libraries/#comment-876 Tue, 03 Mar 2009 23:31:51 +0000 http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/?p=583#comment-876 […] Brian Herzog has been looking at the data for these honors and has identified something questionable regarding […]

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By: Brian Herzog https://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/2009/03/03/new-england-star-libraries/#comment-875 Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:17:55 +0000 http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/?p=583#comment-875 Good point – also, the number of computers in the library is a large factor. We have 25+ public terminals, whereas a library with 5 or 10 will probably have lower per-capita usage because they can’t have as many simultaneous sessions.

Also: we have lots of laptops accessing our wireless network at any given time, and we don’t have a way to include those numbers in our overall internet usage.

I’m still not trying to poke holes in the study, I just want to identify the limitations of the data so the next report can be more comprehensive and accurate.

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By: Marnie Oakes https://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/2009/03/03/new-england-star-libraries/#comment-874 Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:09:09 +0000 http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/?p=583#comment-874 Since Internet use per capita plays a part in these ratings, libraries in towns where residents use their home computers instead of library computers are rated lower. Just another bias of the study of which to be aware.

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