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Hats off to the Morton County Library for their Number One rating and their complete devotion to their patrons! |
| January 2001~
Morton County Library has been
ranked number one in a national
library survey. According to a
report recently published in the
Wichita Eagle, Kansas fared well
in a recent ranking of American
public libraries as 43 finished in
the top ten percent nationwide in
their population categories. "We are
proud to announce that Morton County
libraries (Elkhart, Rolla,
Richfield) were ranked first in the
state for libraries in communities
with population 2500-5000. In
addition, we are nationally ranked
eleventh of 1119 libraries of like
population." said library director
Virginia Johnson.
Thomas Hennen, the administrator of the Waukesha County Federated Library System in Wisconsin, created the index. Hennen decided the country needed a way to objectively rank its public libraries. Hennen’s index looks at 15 weighted factors ranging from circulation to staffing levels to visits per capita. Nearly 9,000 public libraries across the United States were assigned scores ranging from zero to 100. Most of the libraries are grouped near the middle of the list. Morton County Library had a score of 861 and a percentile of 99.2%. Morton County Library was formed in 1922 with 250 donated books. According to the Tri-State News in February 1928 the library loaned out 626 books. Through the years, Morton County Library has been very progressive. The dedication of the librarians has made the library into one the community can be proud of. Morton County Library (including Elkhart, Rolla and Richfield) employs the following individuals: Virginia Johnson, Elkhart director, has been with Morton County Library for 20 years. Other employees include Linda Mitchell who has been with the library 11 years, Carrie Williams, 10 years, Toni Bressler 9 ½ years, Cheryl Morisse 9 ½ years and Barbara Luck one year. High School pages at Elkhart include Kim Overpeck, Samantha Scott, Loni Gilbert, and Kelisha White. Amanda Forinash works at the library when she is home from college. In Rolla, director Cindy Hittle has been with the library for 9 ½ years. Mandy Dunn has worked in the library for 7 years. The Richfield United Methodist Women help staff the library at Richfield. Morton County Library board members are Carl Herrman, Missy McKinley, Mike Wiegers, Ken Wasson and Terri Ryman. If you haven’t been to the library in a while stop by and let the ladies show you all of the new and exciting things the library has to offer. |