Is weighting appropriate in a rating system?
Some object to that HAPLR gives more weight to some measures than to others. Yet not weighting factors makes a value judgment as well. Not weighting the factors makes them equal in importance. This begs the question; is a library visit truly equal in value to a circulation, an electronic resource session, or attendance at a program? BIX, the German rating system uses weighting, as does HAPLR. The table below indicates the relative weights to possible measures assigned by HAPLR, BIX, and the LJ Index. HAPLR assigns 38% of the values to input measures, BIX assigns 56%, the LJ index assigns 0%. Note that due to the score algorithm of the LJ Index, the final score of a library can be almost totally driven by a single factor. Type Measure HAPLR Relative weight BIX Relative Weight LJ Index Relative Weight Input Expenditure per capita 10% Employees per 1,000 capita 7% 8% Percent Budget to materials 7% Materials Expend.
