Keith Curry Lance

For over a decade, school librarians have been gradually disappearing from K-12 schools. In 2009-10, the 50 states and the District of Columbia reported more than 52,500 full-time equivalents (FTEs) of school librarians; by 2022-23, those FTEs had dropped to just over 39,300 — a 25% decrease (National Center for Education Statistics, n.d.). By 2022-23, more than a third of local school districts reported having no school librarians.

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This is the 15th year in which Library Journal has scored U.S. public libraries on the LJ Index of Public Library Service and awarded Star Library ratings. The 2022 scores and ratings are based on FY20 data from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Public Library Survey (PLS). Every year, Star Libraries changes. The numbers of libraries reporting and qualifying for Star Libraries changes.