A New Public Library Rating Index Reveals the Best--and the Worst

Staff -- School Library Journal, 2/1/1999

Thanks to a new public library rating system, it's now possible to determine which libraries are the best in the country and which are mere ne'er-do-wells. Relatively speaking, of course. The rating system is the brainchild of Thomas J. Hennen Jr., a 24-year veteran of libraries.

What does Hennen's American Public Library Rating Index (www.haplr-index.com/) have to say about the quality of children's library services? Unfortunately, not a word. Although Hennen would have liked to have included data about kids' services in his index, he told SLJ that most libraries failed to report juvenile circulation and program-attendance information.