Ohio Study Says Library Use Worth Four Times the Public Support
-- Library Journal, 12/7/2006
Library services at nine library systems in southwest Ohio are valued at nearly four times the dollars spent, according to a report commissioned by those libraries. The 50-page report, from Levin, Driscoll & Fleeter, a Columbus firm specializing in state and local budget and tax policy, concludes that the libraries' cumulative expenditure of about $74.5 million returned a quantifiable direct economic benefit of $238.6 million, or $3.81 for each dollar spent in 2005. Moreover, the study points out that the libraries add significant value to their users and communities that cannot be quantified, including, "improved economic prospects and an enhanced quality of life." The report, the first of its kind in Ohio, was launched to combat cuts in state funding, which has for years been significant statewide. "Conducting this study was part of our joint strategy to stop the erosion of state funding by providing strong empirical data demonstrating both the great value of libraries and also what excellent investments they are," said Kim Fender, executive director of the Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County. (That library accounts for about two-thirds of staff FTE, circulation, and operating expenditures among the group.) Participating libraries are: Lane Public Library, Hamilton; Middletown Public Library; Clermont County Public Library, Batavia; Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County; Franklin-Springboro Public Library; Lebanon Public Library; Mason Public Library; Salem Township Public Library; and Mary L. Cook Public Library, Waynesville.
The study quantified the value of services received by library users from the use of books, music, films, reference material, and electronic databases, as well as the estimated value received when librarians answered reference questions. It also includes the value obtained from the use of library computers, meeting rooms, and from computer training programs, tutoring, and test proctoring provided by the libraries. Quantified value totals $190.4 million, including circulation ($104.8M), reference ($64.6M), computer use ($19.17M), computer training ($62K), and outreach services ($464K). The total: $2.56 per dollar. The application of a household expenditure multiplier, as per the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis, brings the total quantifiable benefit to $283.6 million or $3.81 per dollar. The study used actual acquisition costs—not list prices, as some other studies have done—to value books circulated. Each circulation of a book was valued at half of $9.59, the average cost of a new book. Circulation of films was valued at $3/item, similar to local rental costs. Audiobooks were valued at $11.45 per circulation, the average price of online rental services. In-house periodical use was valued at $5/item. Reference questions were valued at $5/answer. Access to electronic databases was valued at $10/article, comparable to prices charged by article retrieval services. Values didn't include an estimate of additional profits derived by patrons from services such as access to investor tools. The $3.81 return also didn't include the "additional value represented by accumulated resources" such as public depositories of archival information, technical materials, and reference works.
