BAD LIBRARIES

Library Administrator's Digest, Feb 2004 by Robinson, Charles W

What's a good library? How do you define excellent library service? What are the factors, which together make up a successful library?

Of course, it's a combination of factors, the most important of which, at least in my mind, is adequate financial support. But certainly that's not all. I could point to well-off libraries, which are badly administered by the director, or subverted by their trustees, or ill served by a rigid staff. And probably so could you. The greatest disadvantage these days to a "high" rating is the demographics of the community. Hard to do anything much about that, except to try to find out what kind of service your community might respond to. It's hard to sell hamburgers in a vegetarian community. As I have said on occasion (to some criticism, to tell the truth), public libraries are a middle class institution. The rich don't need them (they buy their books and DVDs) and the poor have higher priorities than reading (like food and shelter and jobs) and less education. Of course, there are a lot of middle class people, most of who seem to live in suburban communities.

And look: those suburban communities are those which receive the highest Hennen ratings. In the top 10 libraries in each of the two highest population groups, those serving over 250,000 people, all except one have the words "County" or "Metro" or " Regional" in their title (the exception is Denver). Fifty years ago the big cities would have held these top spots, I'll bet, if Hennen had been around.

So, the "Great American Public Libraries" are those in the communities where the middle class lives. The readers. The soccer moms. The hockey dads.

And all of those libraries are faultlessly administered by their directors, supported by wise and enthusiastic trustees, have splendid relations with their appropriating authorities, and well-paid, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and hardworking staff members. Right!

Something's missing here in Hennen's ratings - something important for many libraries serving the cities which have lost a lot of the middle class and which are searching for a mission which perhaps doesn't fit Hennen's parameters. These libraries are a lot harder to administer, even with money, because the traditional success factors don't apply. And, in many cases they are tightly controlled by governments, which over the years have developed the governmental equivalent of hardening of the arteries. You know, a six-week delay in getting three reams of paper from supply, and a 10-week wait for your printer to be fixed. You've heard the stories. Or experienced them, which is less fun.

Well, all of this Hennen stuff is no news: it's too obvious. But three other public library administrators and I were discussing this at dinner one night at the San Diego ALA midwinter conference. And we then began to wonder if we could rate the worst public libraries in the United States. I had just received an e-mail from a librarian who described the library she was working in as "calcified." I don't think that's a factor that is considered in the Hennen, ratings, but it could be in a rating of the worst public libraries.

And I guess a library could score high in the Hennen ratings and still make a high score in the worst public library ratings.

Well, at dinner we certainly didn't work out the details of what constitutes the "worst" factors, but each of us had candidates to be considered for the list. I had one that I knew had been pretty awful for at least 50 years through a long succession of directors, but which shows some little signs of life now. And another with the same long record of awfulness with no hope in sight. And, of course some smaller ones with the same kind of reputation.

Well, we all had some candidates and a lot of agreement. You might have your own, locally and/or nationally.

But I don't think any list would make it to the pages of American Libraries. Hennen's list, of course, has given bragging rights to a number of libraries across the country. The PR people must love it, but what effect it has on the budget or staff morale at high-ranking libraries is certainly unclear. The same goes for ranking of colleges and business schools by various periodicals, I would imagine.

Would ranking as a bad public library bring about better financial support? Nah, I guess not. Forget the idea. But don't take a job at any library on this nonexistent list.