Maybe this is part of my problem

Kentucky Rankings: Comparison of Kentucky Public Libraries with Other States

#48 in ALA-MLS librarians, #20 in FTE librarians, meaning we're doing well in library personnel overall but not so well in recruiting those with accredited training at what is generally recogised as the gold standard for the field. Since we do have an accredited school right here in Lexington, the problem isn't a lack of people...it's a lack of jobs, especially those that pay anything like the 30,000 USD that level of education should yield as a minimum. Yep. Many of us with master's degrees who stubbornly continue to live in our state are languishing in underemployment (at my best, before the layoff, I was finally up to about 23K a year, now I'm grossing about 14K) or have left the field altogether. Even my leasing agent at my apartment complex has an MLS.

:(

Still, it looks like Kentucky has slowly been climbing up in several areas. And we do have a very vibrant, library-using community that make it very worthwhile to serve...so long as we have the money to reach out to underserved areas and continue to foster education and technology in our citizens.