The data we need for the changes we want

There’s a metaphor that says leaders can either be thermometers recording data, or they can be thermostats, reading the temperature and then taking action to transform the environment.

It’s an interesting concept when applied to libraries—how often are we thermometers for our community, recording changes in data? And how often do we act as thermostats, regulating the “temperature” on key issues like literacy, broadband accessibility, and workforce development? 

Over the years, Library Journal’s Index of Public Library Service and Star Library ratings have focused on recording and reporting data for the purpose of promoting libraries through quantitative data; helping improve the pool of nationally collected library statistics; and encouraging library self-evaluation. Libraries have effectively used the LJ Index to track progress on outputs including circulation, visits, program attendance, public internet computer use, and, more recently, digital circulation and website traffic. It’s a finely calibrated thermometer.

During my time at Cuyahoga County Public Library, OH (CCPL), we—like many other libraries—used the LJ Index and Star Library rating as valuable tools in advocacy and fundraising. We wove details about CCPL’s high per capita circulation, growth in computer usage, and robust program attendance into our marketing. CCPL benefited from the LJ Index because we interpreted the data as a positive story about our service.

In 2020, library service outputs changed dramatically due to the pandemic. When buildings closed, visits vanished. With physical collections rendered inaccessible, circulation effectively stopped. Remember when we had to quarantine books for 72 hours? Library service outputs have evolved recently to now include things like COVID-19 vaccine clinics, virtual reading tutoring, and on-site distributions with local food banks.

The 2022 LJ Index and Star Library relied on FY20 data from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Public Library Survey (PLS)—and we discovered, not surprisingly, variations over previous years. Depending on a library’s reporting period and their state and local pandemic rules, the data showed wildly divergent statistics. Our partner and technical expert on the LJ Index, Keith Curry Lance, notes this wasn’t a failure but a benefit of the process: “When extraordinary things are happening, that’s when it is most important to collect and report data.”

I agree with Keith. Maintaining a consistent record of data in order to monitor changes over time is a valuable endeavor. As libraries have shifted their services over the past three years to accommodate pandemic practices and new technology, I also think it’s fair that we ask ourselves whether the outputs tracked in the LJ Index still provide a comprehensive and concise set of library service indicators—recognizing, of course, that the IMLS PLS data set is the only one collected at a national level and any additions or changes to the quantitative metrics would be a massive undertaking.

I also think it’s important in this moment to reflect on the original purpose of the LJ Index—it was never meant to measure the quality, excellence, or appropriateness of library service. After all, a thermometer only tells you the temperature; it does not qualify the good from the bad. Yet the reality is that many libraries have viewed the Star Library ratings as a kind of judgment on their performance.

I wonder if a better way of thinking about the LJ Index is in how libraries can use it to be a thermostat, dialing up or down service outputs based on their specific community needs.
Together with Keith, we have decided to pause the LJ Index of Public Library Service and Star Library rating this year so we can delve deeper into these questions. We are committed to providing the profession with a meaningful data tool, so we plan to use this hiatus to learn from you. I invite you to please email hrich@mediasourceinc.com with your thoughts about the LJ Index—How have you used it? What do you learn from it? And, what do you think it should mean to be a Star Library?