LJ Index 2012: All the Stars, All Five Editions

BERNARDSVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY, NJ
2010 Population 7,345
2010 Expenditures $1M
l j i Category $1M–$4.9M

While the staff and community of the Bernardsville Public Library are always excited to receive another 5-Star rating, they continue to look at other libraries for ideas and inspiration, says Director Karen Brodsky. Like other Star libraries, Bernardsville PL focuses on positive efficiencies. Much of the library’s programming is made possible by volunteer help—programs like English as a Second Language, financial management, nutrition, author talks, poetry workshops, online learning, and video game design. In fact, one popular ongoing community education program, CARES (Community Assistance Resource and Education Services), was the brainchild of a man from a nearby town who worked with the library to execute the idea.

Centerville Community Library, SD
2010 Population 1,848
2010 Expenditures $45.5K
l j i Category $10K–$49.9K

Centerville Community Library has been a joint public and school district library since 1994, and in recent years the LJ Index Star ratings have been a boon to the library’s publicity efforts. While the IMLS-reported operating budget puts the library in the smallest LJI expenditure group, the library’s combined budget is closer to $78K. Beyond funding advantages, school librarian Linda Holberg and community librarian Lindsey Hansen described the synergy that the arrangement affords in a webinar held by the Nebraska Library Commission. For instance, accommodating school and community open hours effectively provides students and residents with extended access to resources. Both “sides” of the library participate in community promotional and fundraising events, such as the annual Tour of Homes, school homecoming festivities, and the Christmas weekend parade.

Fayetteville Free Library, NY
2010 Population 10,192
2010 Expenditures $1.2M
l j i Category $1M–$4.9M

At the Fayetteville Free Library (FFL), patrons make reserved appointments with librarians and technical staff for job help and readers’ advisory, which is just one example cited by Executive Director Susan Considine as indicating the library’s emphasis on community engagement. FFL was also the first library in the state of New York to deliver 3M’s Cloud Library System for ebooks, while its Library After Dark programs—minifundraising and entertainment events including live musical and comedic performances—allow the community to enjoy the library’s space in less conventional ways. During the recession, FFL worked to increase its operational efficiency, for instance, by implementing RFID technology to save space and time in managing the library’s collection.

Grand Marais Public Library, MN
2010 Population 1,426
2010 Expenditures $225K
l j i Category $100K–$399.9K

Repeated 5-Star recognition has been added impetus to the already strong local support for the Grand Marais Public Library located on Lake Superior near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Director Linda Chappell highlighted the great appreciation for the library, citing a recent one percent sales tax jointly approved by the Minnesota state legislature and Cook County. The tax was levied for multiple recreational improvement projects in the county, including countywide Wi-Fi, a biomass district heat and power plant, enhancements to a public golf course, and the recently completed 2,400 square foot expansion of the library’s building providing a total of 6,700 square feet featuring a new quiet reading room.

Hartington Public Library, NE
2010 Population 1,475
2010 Expenditures $92K
l j i Category $50K–$99.9K

Director Tami Anderson says the key contributing factor to the Hartington Public Library’s repeat 5-Star ratings is its attention to great customer service and diligence keeping abreast of the latest library trends. In its updated computer lab, the Wi-Fi hot spot is a popular after-school hangout where library staff routinely distribute extra laptops to patrons. The art gallery on the upper level of the library’s Carnegie building attracts additional visitors while raising awareness of the visual arts. In 2011, the library ran a recarpeting campaign by “selling” $30 carpet squares to local patrons and businesses. Within four months, the library had raised over $20,000 to install the new carpeting buildingwide, with no additional tax funding.

Island Free Library, New Shoreham, RI
2010 Population 1,035
2010 Expenditures $447K
l j i Category $400K–$999.9K

Like some other top-scoring LJ Index libraries, Island Free Library operates in a resort community. On a fairly small operating budget, library director Kristin Baumann is proud that the library “does a heck of a job” delivering responsive services to residents and seasonal visitors. Seeking inexpensive but effective collaborations, the library runs a joint film festival with a local environmental organization, the Ocean View Foundation, and also cleverly routed the path of its annual Lantern Walk fundraiser to end at the Block Island Historical Society’s open house. On summer evenings, the library’s lawn is aglow with devices held by residents and visitors alike, making use of the library’s 24-hour Wi-Fi access.

Naperville Public Library, IL
2010 Population 144,560
2010 Expenditures $14.8M
l j i Category $10M–$29.9M

Naperville Public Library director John Spears extends primary credit for the library’s repeated Star nods to the community of this fifth largest city in Illinois, noting that the library board emphasizes community engagement and supports a healthy relationship with city government. While the library’s financial situation has suffered owing to losses in tax-based income since 2009, the city granted a $760,000 increase to the library’s levy for FY13. Partnerships are crucial for Naperville PL, which has initiated joint database purchasing with local school districts, holds story times at the DuPage Children’s Museum in exchange for interactive displays at the library, collaborates on special programs designed for residents with autism, and conducts story times in multiple languages with the help of a community foreign-language resource, Language Stars.

Worthington Public Library, OH
2010 Population 61,549
2010 Expenditures $8.2M
l j i Category $5M–$9.9M

Besides its consistently high rankings in the LJ Index since 2009, the Worthington Public Library was also the 2007 Gale/LJ Library of the Year. Rather than resting on these laurels, however, the library uses them as inspiration to design and deliver other relevant and innovative local programming such as office hours at the local food pantry and at local immunization clinics, said director and CEO Chuck Gibson. Meanwhile, Worthington PL is also currently gearing up to open two new homework help centers, while library staff also serve on numerous nonprofit boards in the community. To create a narrative showcasing the library’s role in the area, the library developed a marketing campaign, Find Yourself Here, which received a John Cotton Dana Award in 2011.