A half-day workshop at the 10th Northumbria International
Library Conference, York England July 25, 2013. Topics discussed include return on investment (ROI), Direct use benefits, indirect use benefits, ROI in libraries, What to do, how to communicate value, and Orr's fundamental questions
The Value & Economic Measures of Libraries - Economic Perspective
1. The Value & Economic
Measures of Libraries
10th Northumbria International
Library Conference
Joe Matthews
July 25, 2013
Afternoon Session – Economic Perspective
2. Agenda
Return on Investment (ROI)
Cost-Benefit Methodologies
Direct Use Benefits
Economic Impact Benefits
Indirect Use Benefits
Consumer Surplus Method
Contingent Valuation
Method
7. Perspectives on Value
Benefits
Use
Nonuse
Direct
Indirect
Option – Preservation of option for
future use by me
Existence – Perceived value and
significance
to the community
Legacy – Value of preservation for
future generations
Personal
Organizational
Financial
Impacts
8. Financial Impacts
• Direct use benefits
– Cost savings
– Access to other resources
– Access to trained professionals
• Indirect use benefits
– Estimated value
• Non-use benefits
– Benefits that arise to you in the future
– Benefits that arise to others in the
future
12. ROI in Library Contexts
• Demonstrating the value of libraries
• Evaluating existing services, collections,
etc.
• Making the case for additional services or
resources
• Recruiting support for a program or
initiative
13. ROI Terminology
• Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA)
– Compares cost or purchase price with
estimated value of variables that are difficult to
measure
• Consumer Surplus
– Value that consumers place on the
consumption of a good or service in excess of
what they paid for it
• Cost of Time and Effort
– Measures time and effort expended by users
• Contingent Valuation
14. Cost/Benefit Methodologies
• Maximize the benefits for given costs
• Minimize the costs for a given level of
benefits
• Maximize the ratio of benefits over costs
• Maximize the net benefits (present value
of benefits minus the present value of
costs)
• Maximize the internal rate of return
15. Ratio of Benefits to Costs
Value of benefits
divided by
Costs
ROI = Benefit – Cost
Cost
17. Direct Use Benefits
• Cost savings – the “free” stuff
• Free or low-cost access to equipment,
programs, meeting rooms, etc.
• Access to trained professional
librarians
18.
19. Identify a Competing Service
• Establish price of competing service
• Identify library’s annual volume or use
• Multiply to establish value of annual
benefits
22. Challenge
What is the value of an item in a collection?
• Purchase price
• Purchase price + processing costs
• Discount the purchase price to 20 – 25 %
23. Challenge
• Difficult to identify all services
• Difficult to establish a value for some
services
24. Generate Revenue
Ask the library user to:
• Estimate revenue generated
• Estimate costs saved
Library then calculates totals
25. Estimate Time Saved
Ask library customer to:
• Estimate time saved
• Multiple by hourly salary (plus
benefits)
Library then calculates savings
26. Economic Impact Analysis
Compares local/regional economic activity
of the library
to the local/regional economic activity
without the library
27. Economic Impact Analysis
• Salaries for library employees plus
supplies/services purchased locally
• PLUS the multiplier or ripple effect
• The resulting data is entered into a
input-output econometric model
28. A Destination
Major libraries and museums will attract
visitors from out-of-town. These visitors
spend money on:
– Car rentals
– Hotels
– Restaurants
– Tours
– Etc.
37. Consumer Surplus
Monetary value consumers associate
with a good or service in
excess
of any costs they incur to get it
Data collected using a survey
38. Contingent Valuation
• Economic method of evaluation for non-
priced goods and services
• Looks at the implications of not having the
goods/services
• Identifies the cost to use alternative
sources of information, should people
choose to do so
40. Willingness-to-Pay (WTP)
Suppose that no libraries had ever existed
and taxes for libraries had never existed.
How many tax dollars or fees would your
household be willing to pay annually
to create and maintain your library
as it exists today?
$ __________
41. Willingness-to-Accept (WTA)
Suppose that in the next election the ballot
contained an option for closing all public
libraries.
The budget savings would be used to lower
taxes.
How much should the yearly tax saving be
in order for you to vote to close the libraries?
$ _____________
42. Contingent Valuation Questions
• If there were no library, what would you do
to obtain the information on this visit?
• How much time and money do you think it
would take to find & use an alternative
source?
• How far would you have had to travel to
use this other source?
• Please estimate the additional costs of
using this other source.
43. Contingent Valuation
Challenges
• Depends on ability to pay
• Whose money? Yours or mine
• Immaterial goods (info) are undervalued
• Values influenced by the “warm glow”
effect
• Are values suggested (multiple choice)
• WTP & WTA produce different results
• Telephone survey is long, costly
44. Library Valuation Studies
Country National State Regional Individual Total
Australia 1 1 2
Germany 1 1
New Zealand 1 1
Norway 1 1
South Korea 2 2
UK 2 2
USA 7 8 19 34
Totals 5 7 8 23 43
47. University of Pittsburgh ROI
• If the library’s journal collection (print &
electronic) were not available, faculty
would use 250,000 hours and $2.1 million
to find alternative sources for the articles
• It would cost the university 4.38 times
the cost of the current library journal
collections for the same amount of
information gathering to be carried out
48. University of Illinois, Urbana-
Champaign
Connected citations to resources
in
the library’s collection to
successful
grant proposals, and the income
the
grants generated
49.
50.
51. ROI may provide us with calculations that
seek to document a financial relationship
between action and benefit, but too often
in the library community these studies are
poorly constructed, ineffectively
executed, and naïvely communicated.
And in the final analysis, do not respond
to the legitimate questions being raised
by our administrators and funders, and do
not advance the academic library as a
critical factor in institutional success.
James Neal
52.
53. • Comprehensive assessment of the library
• ROI of the journal collection & readership
• ROI for support of teaching & learning
• ROI of digitized special collections
• ROI of eBooks
• Value of library commons
• Bibliography
54. Bryant University – Faculty
Access
Article ROI = 3.2:1
Book ROI = 3.5:1
Other publications ROI = 3.2:1
55. Syracuse University – ROI
4.49:1
Faculty Students
Economic
In Person $13.6 $23.1
Remote 19.0 14.5
TOTAL $32.6 $37.6
Environmental
Remote access $1.6 $3.7
Read not-printed 0.1 0.7
Social ? ?
TOTAL $34.3 $42.0
(Millions of Dollars)
59. ROI for Support of Teaching &
Learning
Perceived Benefits –
• Savings …
– Of own time
– Of own money
– Of other resources – printing, copier
• Improvements …
– Teaching
– Course-related materials
– Student performance
60. ROI of Digitized Special Collections
User
• What is the value to a user in terms of
time and money spent?
Prestige
• What is the prestige to the institution
for high visibility digital special
collection?
Development
• What value accrues to the
61. ROI of Digitized Special Collections
Environmental
• What is the value of the environmental
savings from limited physical access to
unique and often fragile material?
Scholars
• What value accrues from the role of special
collections in attracting graduate students?
Collections
• What is the value of digital collection in
attracting additional special collections?
66. ROI in Public Libraries
• Value of direct use benefits usually
determined by consumer surplus method
• Value of indirect use benefits determined
by contingent valuation estimates
• Value of nonuse benefits determined by
contingent valuation estimates
67. State of Florida
Total annual investment in Florida’s public libraries was $449 million
Total economic returns (direct and indirect) was $2.9 billion
For every $1 invested the library returned $6.54 in direct benefits
Using input-output model called REMI to measure indirect benefits:
• For every $6,448 spent on public libraries, 1 Job was created
• For every dollar spent on public libraries, Gross Regional Product increased by
$9.08
68. Suffolk Cooperative Library System
Benefit-to-cost-ratio methods to measure direct benefits:
Total Value of library services Tax dollars supporting service:
$509,415,038 $131,647,566 = $3.87 : 1 benefit/cost ratio
For every $1 invested the library returned $3.87 in direct benefits
Using input-output model called RIMS II to measure indirect benefits:
• Library generated $26 million in goods and services
• Library enabled local earnings to increase by more than $50 million
• Created more than 1,200 jobs for the local economy
• Total multiplier effect of SCLS spending = $232 million.
•
69. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Consumer surplus method used to estimated direct benefits.
Library is the most visited regional destination
Indirect benefit estimates suggested that:
• Library provides some 700 jobs
• $63 million in economic output is attributable to the library
• $75 of benefits for every resident of the County
For every $1 invested the library returned $3.00 in direct benefits
$5.50 of benefits if only local tax dollars are considered.
70. Philadelphia Free Library
Literacy
Learn to read and acquire working skills totals $21.8 million
Workforce Development
Locate job opportunities and develop career skills totals $6 million
979 people found jobs in one year ($30.4 million in earned income)
generating $1.2 million annually in wage tax revenue for the city
Business Development
Develop or enhance their own businesses total $3.8 million
Value to Homes and Neighborhoods
Homes within ¼ mile of a library are worth $9,630 more than other homes
These homes produce an additional $18.5 million in property taxes
Economic value of library services that help Philadelphians:
78. ROI in Public Libraries
• Largest number of ROI studies
• Single library study, libraries with
branches, & group of public
libraries, state studies
• ROI ranges from a low of 1.02:1 to
31.07:1
79.
80.
81. Social Return on Investment
Models
Expected Return =
Benefit X Probability of success Cost
82. • How are outcomes or benefits estimated?
Over what timeframe?
• How are outcomes or benefits monetized?
• How are costs calculated?
• How are risks and uncertainties accounted
for?
Social Return on Investment
Models
83. • The inconsistent use of language
• The lack of common measures in the
social sector
• The lack of quality data on social
impacts, outcomes, outposts, and cost
• The lack of incentives for transparency
• Unintended consequences
• Inadequate utilization
• The cost of measurement.
SROI Challenges
91. ROI Challenges
Lack of consistency in methodologies
limits the ability to replicate research,
compare valuation results, and
apply the research findings
92. Value of Benefits
• Materials for adults 35%
• Staff interactions 30%
• Materials for children 20%
• Information technology 15%
93. Library Valuation Frameworks
• Marketing – promote communication
between libraries and their
stakeholders to affect the future state
of a library
• Evaluation – Describe the current state
of the library and predict its future
state
94. ROI
Strengths
– Average ROI of $4:1 to $6:1
– Wide variation in establishing a service value
– Different user groups receive different levels of
benefits
– The value of a library will vary over time, as users
and uses change
– The consumer surplus method (or the shortcut
method) has been used successfully by a number of
libraries
– Multiple methods lead to increased confidence in the
results
95. ROI
Weaknesses
– Assigning value for indirect (intangible)
benefits is problematical
– Comparing ROI studies is impossible
– Variety of methodologies leads to variation
in results
– Policy-makers are uncertain of how to use
the results
– May involve large surveys (and costs)
– ROI for small libraries may not be so good
96. Not only must a ROI study
consider dollars and cents
but it must also
make dollars and sense
100. Good Assessment is Good
Research
• An important question
• An approach to answer the
question
• Data collection
• Analysis
• Report
101. Problems with Library
Assessment
• Some studies correlate library use and
retention, but no causative links
• Strength of correlations is weak – at
best
• Problem with almost all existing library
research are the small sample size
• Only a handful of research has been
102. “While satisfaction and service quality
measures like LibQUAL+ demonstrate
librarians commitment to user feedback,
they do not focus on the outcomes of
interaction with library services and
resources.”
Megan Oakleaf
105. Layers of Data
Library Data
Circulation, Logins, Downloads, Reference,
Instruction, …
Demographic Data
College, Level, Major, Gender, Ethnicity, Age, …
Performance Data
Cumulative GPA, ACT score, CLA score, ….
Other University-wide Data
Student Surveys, Faculty Surveys, Alumni Surveys, …
106. Privacy
Use student IDs to match records from
one data set to another and then
Strip the student ID number from the
combined record
Work with Office of Institutional Research
&
Institutional Review Board
107. • WCET project – data mining
• 6 institutions + 10 more (Phase 2)
• Analyzing 640,000 student records &
more than 3 million course records
108. Next Steps
• Clearly understand the goals and
concerns of top campus stakeholders
• Become engaged with the assessment
process at your institution
• Partner with your campus Office of
Institutional Research
• Create a library assessment plan
• Conduct “big picture” research
109. Next Steps
• Collect new data (individual students)
• Find “new” (& existing) data sets
• Combine existing data sets (library data &
student information systems – registrar’s
office)
• Use assessment management systems or
a metric management system (LibPAS)
117. • An offer, not a demand
• Not what you value
• Only valuable perspective is the
customer’s
• Valuable in a competitive environment
The Value Proposition
118. Or
The
promise that a library makes to its
customers about what they can
expect
to receive in return for their time,
their effort, their loyalty, and
especially their dollars.
119. The library needs to …
Focus on customers
and whatthey want and need
as well as
how they want and need it.
128. Is the value in the glass, the wine
or the savoring?
129. The financial crisis is looking even worse,
but you will pleased to know that the
director reports that the library performance
went up a half a point on the
“library goodness scale” last week.
Michael Buckland
Libraries no longer being taken for granted as a “good thing”Increased availability of electronic resourcesGreater competition for finite resources (especially financial resources)Increased emphasis being placed on demonstrating value for moneyAre existing (or new) services of value?Value of the local collection is decliningGoogle images competition.jpgducharme.cc
Is the library “at the table” with funding decision makersOr is it “on the menu”?
What do you think? What is your definition of ROI?
In short, ROI is a tool to help with decision-making in either planning or evaluation of services. Most often, it is a measure of the dollar amount of an investment compared to the estimated value in dollars and cents of the outcomes, outputs, or uses of the results. The most effective ROI analyses are, however, best described as stories that weave together qualitative and quantitative assessments of the value of the library and its services.
Organizational level – ROI studies often called Library Valuation studiesIn financial circles, ROI often referred to as payback period, net present value, internal rate of return
In planning, estimate of measurable outcomes expected to be achieved as a result of investment of resourcesIn evaluating performance, measurement of outcomes achieved as a result of investment of resources
CBAConsumer surplus – cost of the vacation = X ringgits, value of the vacation experience = pricelessCost of Time and Effort – “Is it worth my time?”Contingent Valuation – more later
Typically, analysis of competing projects- capital expenditure projectsROI is sometimes called ROCE – Return on Capital Employed
In library studies, the ratio of benefits compared to costs is usedIn reality, it should be (value of benefits minus cost) divided by costs
Ratio of benefits to costs – e.g. 4.50 to 1 or 4.50 Malaysian ringgits to 1 ringgit of cost (budget)For every ringgit supporting the library, the library sees a return on investment of X ringgitsThe challenge: Buying something (an alternative) is not the same thing as borrowing something from the library
Estimating the value of the benefits – use (direct and indirect) and non-use value
What is the connection?NYPL in 1922, DeWitt Wallace came in every day and read and wrote summaries of articles. – For more than 2 yearsBy 1929, it had 290,000 subscribersToday, 50 editions in 21 languages
Shortcut method – Public Library
University of Oregon and Cornell University
Multiplier in some cases can be as high as 5-7
Los Angeles’s J. Paul Getty MuseumNew York’s Public Library, American Museum of Natural History, MOMA, etc.The US Library of CongressThe British LibraryThe Huntington Library in Pasadena Calif
Google images seattle‑public‑library.jpgplusmood.com
Library most visited regional assetLibrary provides $75 worth of benefits for every resident of the CountyGoogle images carnegie‑library‑squirrel‑hill‑09‑600x450.jpgboringpittsburgh.com
UK study looked at the economic impact on local businesses when a library was shut down on strike.Revenues went down 23 % Proctor, Usherwood and Sobczyk. What happens when a public library services closes down? Library Management, 18 (1), 1997, 59-64.
Glen Holt and his colleaguesBaltimore County PL – 72%King County Library System – 94%Phoenix PL – 150%
Michigan eLibrary (MeL) spent $3.9 million for online content for all residents in the state – saving the state $193.4 million82.7 million articles viewed or downloaded – estimated value @ $3 per article = 248 million (Cost = 5 cents per article)
ALA Publishing - 2007
Indirect Use Benefits & Non-Use BenefitsStated preference techniques are used by economists to estimate values when preferences cannot be revealed through the demand for goods and services at particular prices.Contingent valuation used to establish economic values and non-use values – range of technical and philosophical critiquesPaired choice comparisons can establish economic value of options and non-use valuesTravel costs – how much time are people willing to travel to visit a library – value of timeAttribute-based methods and paired comparisons – environmental compensation estimatesTravel cost method assumes that each user values their own time. The choice implicit in visiting a library (physically or virtually) rather than some other activity reflects the investment equal to the value of users time at the library. Travel time plus actual time at the library using the opportunity cost of this time, e.g., hourly wage rates or reported value of recreational time
Survey costs can be high
River Ouse in York
Used to estimate Indirect use and non-use benefits“Warm glow” effect is the enjoyment derived when considering the benefits realized by the beneficiariesGenerally, WTA estimates are greater than WTP and are considered less reliableCosts can range from $20,000 to $100,000 +
Public – 32Academic – 2Special – 2National – 5
The Geisel Library at University of California San Diego (UCSD)Google images tumblr_ljt73g73W81qgn65ao1_500.jpgfuckyescalifornia.tumblr.com
Challenge: How to translate capital cost savings (need for more space is diminished) to operational costs to support electronic resources
Don King et al 2004 Contingent valuation ROI = 2.9.1:1
Formula ? Convoluted –“Funding does not regenerate funding, but reputation does”TenopirPlus a study in Germany
The calculations
StoptheMadness:TheInsanityofROIandtheNeedforNewQualitativeMeasuresofAcademicLibrarySuccess.James G. NealACRL National Conference, March 30-April 2, 2011 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
For-profit university – grown to over 100,000 students – all classes are taught onlineLibrary responsible for linking to online resources PLUSeBookstore (demands at least a 35% reduction in price for all eTextbooks and eliminates all shipping costs)APU ePress creates eTextbooks for high-demand classesOverall library achieves at least a 15:1 ROI
Visit the project’s Web sitehttp://libvalue.cci.utk.edu/Comprehensive assessment of the library – Bryant University – Don King report Syracuse University – Bruce Kingma (surveys) Several NY universities – Megan Oakleaf – Web-based surveysROI of the journal collection & readership – selected US and UK universities – surveys, critical incident, open-ended Drexel UniversityROI for support of teaching & learning – Univ of Tennessee – survey, focus group, writing rubricROI of digitized special collections – Univ of TennesseeROI of eBooks – COUNTER stats, logbooks, surveys – Univ of Illinois, UCValue of library commons – Univ of Tennessee – surveys of undergrad and grad studentsProject bibliography
Access to journal articlesPurpose of reading by faculty – 60% research, 17% teaching, 10% proposals, reportsPurpose of reading by students – 56% course assignment or paper, 20% required reading, 20% class reportFaculty do not get books from the library – 75% from other sourcesReference ROI = 1.50:1Also examined the costs and benefits of providing instruction and access to equipment, photocopiers, AV equipmentSurvey instruments included in the reportStudents do not rely on the library to read books – only 20% do so
Faculty & student surveysBruce KingmaLIBValue Project ALA Midwinter 2012
Annually, faculty spend 216 hours (27 8-hour days) reading articles, 148 hours reading books, and 84 hours reading other publications
What are the values? Using contingent valuation survey and Google analytics
eBooks offer value to the library in both a monetary way through documented “usefulness” to patrons – YMMD – Your mileage may differ - use is locally influencedeBooks are less expensive to own, circulate, maintain and preserve than print bookseBooks offer value to patrons, who “esteem” them due to:Accessibility and availability – 24/7, anywherePortabilitySearch and navigation capabilitiesRoom for improvement
Survey of students and others who enterUniv of Tennessee library
ROI for all of the State of Michigan’s Universities is quite highState funding of $1.5 Billion yield a benefit of $41 BillionYet, even this high ROI has done little to avoid the budget reductions in higher ed
5 Recommendations
Griffiths et al 2004Telephone survey of 883 users and nonusers; 1,505 in-library adult usersIn Pennsylvania – 1,128 telephone surveys, 2,500+ in-library visitor surveys, telephone surveys of 200+ organizationsUse of a REMI state input-output economic model
*Circulation, reference transactions, programming, electronic resources multiplied by frequency of use (statistics derived from the New York State Annual Reports for Public and Association Libraries)**$ value that users would have been willing to pay for these services in the marketplace***Number of items multiplied by estimated market value.Overall, the combined method of CBA and IOMs led to a number of positive outcomes for SCLS:In the financial year following these results the SCLS received the highest amount of funding in its historyThe profile of SCLS was raised significantlySCLS were invited to work in partnership with other public service organisationsThe results of the study are still being used within the district as advocacy tools.This study inspired a number of similar smaller scale research projects within the state, all of which were supervised by Pearl Kamer (Kamer, 2006a, Kamer, 2006b, Kamer, 2006c); and all of which revealed similar positive outputs.
Survey population of 1,300
Combined direct & indirect range ROI for the library from 4.61:1 to 6.03:1Yet, suffered a 50% cut in funding
Great marketing toolMakes customers feel good about using the libraryEasy to understandSo far – no impact in marshaling support for the library
Priceless !!!
10:1 ROI
Victoria, Australia Dollars, Sense and Public Libraries 2008 all public libraries in VictoriaBenefit = $681 million to a cost of $191 millionLibrary customer willing to pay $72 per person per year – pay $36 now1,380 library customers included in the surveyFinancial savings, travel costs, contingent valuation
Economic value – willingness to payEconomic benefit – savings from avoiding the purchase of goods and servicesEconomic activity – contribution to the local economy
V+LM = Value Added Library MethodologyMarket price proxy – market price where there is a willing seller and a willing buyerReplacement cost – cost to replace a serviceOpportunity cost – value of time (less time when using a library)What adds greatest value, compares budget to value of each serviceManakau PL ROI = 1.5:1
Walt Crawford. Give Us a Dollar and We’ll Give You Back Four (2012-13) Average ROI 4.89:1 8,659 public libraries IMLS dataCites & Insights Books
Turin – Gates FoundationSometimes referred to as the “triple bottom line” – financial, social, and environmental
Range of methodsContingent valuationInvestment in accessPrice elasticity in demandCost of alternativesGoogle images
Google images national‑library‑of‑australia_nla_007.jpgccdact.com.au
The National Library of New Zealand found a 3.5 : 1 benefit-cost ratio in their nationalbibliographic database through use of a Choice Modeling (conjoint analysis) survey
V+LM method
Public libraries – St. Louis study – more than 10 years ago – different for your library
Impact will increasingly occur as a result of digitized resources
TangibleIntangible Human capital IT capital Organizational capital
Library needs to collaborate with other on campus to COMBINE dataOffice of Institutional Research
Predictive Analytics Reporting FrameworkGates Foundation - $1 million“Big data”New students are at substantially higher levels of risk of dropping out or failing. 36% of students dropped out.Once a student has some success, they tend to keep going. Doing well the best predictor of continued enrollment. The more concurrent online courses, the more the student struggles.Demographic variables (race, gender, age) tend to lose significance in the presence of behavioral data.Developmental education (remedial) classes do little to help.Students who withdraw from a class will more likely withdraw from other classes in the future.
Metric management system = LibPAS Counting Opinions
Impact – use VERBS – Learning, collaborating, assisting, empowering
How and what you say has a real impact!
Is the library viewed as an ….
Or is the library viewed as a budget sinkhole?
What measures of library success will resonate in your organizational setting?Be visible with your funding decision makers – build personal connectionsIn your environment, how is value defined, measured & communicated?
Pain gapGain gap - outcomes
The Value Proposition must fill two requirements:Actionable by you and your organizationCredible and compelling to target audienceExamples – It’s the most technologically advanced and robust system on the marketWe improve communication and moraleWe offer training classes in a wide variety of areasMy product was rated the best-in-class by leading authorities
Alignment Organization’s mission and goalsWhat is a valuable library? One that contributes to reaching the goals and objectives of the organization.
Be intentional – planPerfect day at the beachUnderstanding how you library can better serve your community is essential to being relevant in the lives of those whom you serve.
Partner with others
Remember that ROI is only one piece of the puzzleFunding for libraries is a reflection of public or campus supportSupport (in the form of your budget) reflects the perceived value of the library to each family, student, faculty member –In short, to your communityHowever, the value is judged in the context of today’s economy and today’s society
If you are going to do ROIEconomic value – willingness to payEconomic benefit – savings from avoiding the purchase of goods and servicesEconomic activity – contribution to the local economyAnd value has three components
Tell your story in numbers and stories Your message – “We have contributed towards YOUR goals by ….”Harbor Bridge, Sydney, Australia
Use lots of color and excitement to convey both written and spoken stories of the value of the library
Gather evidence of the value we addUse the evidence to improve practicesTrumpet the value of the library