America’s Star Libraries: Top-Rated Libraries 2017 :: Library Journal

America’s Star Libraries: Top-Rated Libraries 2017

Library Journal: 12.04.2017 by Keith Curry Lance

We are pleased to announce the results of the tenth edition of the LJ Index of Public Library Service, sponsored by Baker & Taylor’s CollectConnect. The LJ Index rates U.S. public libraries based on selected per capita output measures.

The 2017 Index derives from data recently released by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for FY15.

This year, 7,409 U.S. public libraries qualified to be rated in the Index. In this edition, there are 259 Star Libraries, each receiving three-Star, four-Star, or five-Star designations.

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From 2009 through 2015, the four measures included were circulation, library visits, program attendance, and public Internet computer use. LJ Index scores are produced by measuring the proportional relationships between each library’s statistics and the averages for its expenditure ­category.

Last year, circulation of electronic materials, or e-circ, became the fifth statistic to contribute to a library’s LJ Index score. While we had hoped to add Wi-Fi sessions this year, that was not to be.

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The 2017 Star Libraries are found in 40 states scattered across the country geographically. The top four states, ranked by their numbers of Star Libraries, are New York (31), Ohio (25), Illinois (22), and California (13). There is a tie for fifth place between Kansas and Massachusetts (12 each). The Top Ten Star Library states are rounded out by Nebraska and Texas (11 each), Alabama (10), and Colorado (8). Like these Top Ten states, the remaining 30 Star Library states traverse the nation and are in every major geographical region.

There are no 2017 Star winners in the District of Columbia or ten states. Of those ten states, four are the Southern states of Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, and North Carolina. Two other Star-less states are in the Rocky Mountain West—Idaho and Wyoming—and also Delaware and Hawaii.

In addition to the above-mentioned states, there were no Star Libraries from Maryland or Vermont, because circulation of electronic materials or e-circulation was unreported for all libraries in those states. Consequently, no libraries in these states were scored on the 2017 LJ Index.  READ MORE >>

See Also: Library Reports & Statistics Page