Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
MENTONE - The Bell Memorial Public Library ranked in the top five libraries in the country again, according to the most recent Hennen's American Public Library Ratings report.
The Bell ranked third for libraries serving populations of 2,500 to 4,999; a drop from the No. 1 spot achieved in 2004 and 2002.
Library Director Lorna Klein is happy about the library's placement and unconcerned about the "lower" ranking.
"There are so many new libraries out there and the Ohio system is the best in the country," she said.
In the Bell population category, Ohio's Grand Valley Public Library received the highest score (933) and Utah's Mt. Pleasant Public Library was placed second (with a score of 921).
Since the last HAPLR rankings, which occurs every two years, the Bell X1 meeting room has opened to the public. Friends of the Library paid for furniture and furnishings. The room holds up to 75 people and reservations are free to patrons. People living outside the library district pay a $25-a-day rental fee for the room.
The library uses the room for author visits, summer reading groups and movie presentations with free popcorn.
Last year the library began purchasing DVD-formatted information in its video collection.
A cooperative catalogue of materials at the library and at Tippecanoe Valley Schools is available to patrons, too. Students order books through this system and the library delivers them to the school.
Kline said the "Learning Express" software program soon will be available. The system will have sample tests for people interested in a general education diploma or taking the SAT, social services or police academy exams. Remediation courses in English and mathematics also will be available.
In general, library directors don't "do" anything to get a top ranking on HAPLR. Data was filed by the nation's 9,076 libraries in 2005, collected by 50 state library agencies and compiled by the Federal-State Cooperative System and published by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Most of the HAPLR rating criteria are about staffing levels, funding levels, hours open and other non-circulation measures.
The index does not include data on audio and video collections, electronic use or Internet service, or interlibrary loan among other items that could have been calculated from the FSCS data.
The Indiana library system ranks fourth in the nation. Other Hoosier libraries making the HAPLR list were the Monroe County Public Library, ranked second out of libraries serving populations of 100,000 to 249,999; Carmel Clay Public Library, third, in populations of 50,000 to 99,999; St. Joseph County Public Library, sixth, in populations of 100,000 to 249,999; and the Allen County Public Library, ninth, serving populations of of 250,000 to 499,999.
On the Net: www.haplr-index.com
