Seneca Free Library has received recognition again as a library with overall exceptional library performance. The Library Journal, a well-known and well respected magazine in the Library World, came out with an index rating that shows libraries across the country that are headed in the right direction for high quality service. Based on a 3, 4 and 5 star rating much like the Michelin star rating for restaurants, libraries are rated on real usage and outcomes like circulation, visits, programming and internet usage. A total of 16 Kansas libraries were rated, allowing Kansas to claim the third highest spot in the country. Only New York and Ohio received more stars.
Seneca Free Library and Johnson County Library in Overland Park were the only two libraries in Northeast Kansas to receive 4 stars. No other library in Northeast Kansas was rated in any 3, 4, 5 category. Seneca can be proud of this honor and it shows the care and concern its residents give to the local library.
The libraries were ranked using data collected by the State Library of Kansas for the National Center for Education Statistics and processed through a new assessment tool for public libraries called the “LJ Index”. The four categories used for analysis included: number of times an average individual visited the library, the average number of items checked out by an individual, the program attendance per person, and the number of times an average individual used a library computer terminal.
Kansas has 327 public libraries, about one library for every 8,500 people. Kansans use their libraries significantly and this rating shows that Kansas is headed in the right direction. The primary mission in each library in Kansas is to serve its residents through direct services with help from the State Libary of Kansas.
