• Table: How much value are you giving for their money?
• Explanations of data and calculations
• Interpreting the data
• Excel spreadsheet of all calculations
  Gates computers have Excel.
  Very wide html version for those without Excel on any computer.
  

Table: How much value are you giving for their money?:

The third column below, "Total value of library services," and and last column, "Total value/Local funding," can be used in annual reports, newsreleases and presentations to:

• Announce the value of your library's services and
• Explain the benefits of dedicated, long-term library library funding.

Links to many studies and articles on measuring library value are at del.icio.us/chrisrippel/LibraryImpact

Explanations of data and calculations

The data for these calculations come from the annual report Kansas public librarians submit to the State Library of Kansas at the beginning of each year.

• "Local library funding" comes from question 6.9 in Part VI: Operating Income.
• Data on circulatiing adult and children's materials, answering reference questions, and patron computer use for calculating "total value of library services" comes from:
  • Question 10.2d in Part X: Internet/Elec Access to Info
  • Questions 11.1, 11.2, 11.9 in Part XI: Annual Services
  • Questions 12 and 12.3a in Part XII: Services for typical week

An Excel spreadsheet shows the complete calculations for "total value of library services" and "total value/local funding" for the years 2005 and 2004. Here is a very wide html version for those without Excel on any computer.

"Total value of library services" are rough estimate of library services intended to make city government and your community aware of how much your library contributes to the community.

• Circulation of adult materials times one-half the average price for a new adult fiction hardback, $13.29. "Adult materials" includes all types of materials (e.g., books, magazines, videos, DVDs, etc) intended for adults and young adults.

• Circulation of children's materials times one-half the average price for a new children's fiction hardback, $10.26. "Children's materials" includes all types of materials (e.g., books, magazines, videos, DVDs, etc) intended for children.

  "One-half the average price for a new hardback" is based on the fact that library books are used books and one-half of the new price is a common price for used books. This value also ignores fact that libraries also circulate a variety of items sold at higher and lower prices: paperbacks, non-fiction hardbacks, videos, DVDs, magazines, etc.

  The best estimated value for videos and DVDs is the cost of renting videos and DVDs from your local stores. Unfortunately, annual statistics do not breakout video and DVD circulation.

• Attendence for children's programs times the estimated worth of one event, $1. The value of $1 is 45 minutes times the $1.30 an hour estimated value of the program. The Great Bend Recreation Commission says people pay between $1.25 and $1.50 per hour for their programs. I chose $1.30 per hour as the cost of a library program. Great Bend Public Library's Children's Librarian Sandy Dayton's says her children's programs average about 45 minutes.

• Attendence for adult's programs times the estimated worth of one event, $1.95. This value is $1.30 times the estimated average time for an adult event of one-half hours.

• Number of reference transactions times estimated worth of a transaction, $5. Businesses that answer reference questions charge $50 to $100 dollars an hour. I used a lower price on the assumption that most questions are answered in approximately 6 minutes.

• Number of computer uses times estimated worth of using a computer for half an hour, $5. I have assumed that computer use is worth about $10 an hour and that most libraries have 30 minute blocks of time.

  If you disagree with these estimates for your library, you can recalculate value of your services.

  1. Click "spreadsheet of calculations." (You can not change the very wide html version.) Scrolling right shows the columns containing the data and calculations for circulation of adult and children's materials, attendance at programs, answering reference questions, computer use which add up to "Total Value of Library Services."
  2. Scroll down to your library. Scroll right to the services you want to change.
  3. Type in your estimated value for theservices you want to change.
  4. Press "Enter." The spreadsheet automatically calculates the change of "Total value of library services" and "Total Value/Local Funding."

  You should also note that "total value of services" does not include people who come in a read and research without checking out anything, meeting room use and probably many more things you do that are not counted in your yearly statistics.

  "Local library funding" is all the local revenue given that year to your library: mill levy, motor vehicle tax, LAVTR, employment benefit fund, indirect local public support (e.g., other local or in-kind contributions from government such as rent, custodial services, utilities, etc.). This does not include state aid, system grants, other contributions (e.g., gifts and donations).

  "Total value/Local funding" is "total value of library services" divided by "local library funding." In other words, each year's local funding dollar spent for the long-term maintenance and growth of this community asset, the asset delivered in return this amount in library services.

  The dangers of comparing "Total value/Local funding" between libraries There are numerous reasons why "total value/local funding" differs between libraries that have nothing to do with the quality or efficiency of these libraries. School-community libraries (e.g., Ellinwood) have relatively high returns because school funding for the library is not included in "local funding." CKLS members with very low local funding may receive relatively high returns by simply circulating CKLS rotating books. So most comparisons between libraries of "total value/local funding" are probably not fair. The following section explains an appropriate way to interprete and use the data.

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  Interpreting the data

  Local library funding is for long-term growth and maintenance of a necessary community asset, like streets. Local library funding year-after-year builds and maintains library collections and resources.

  Total value of library services is many times larger than "local library funding" because library collections and resources are growing and getting better. Ninety-one percent of "Total Value of Library Services" is from circulating adult and children's materials. Another 4.7% is from patron computer use. So 95.7% of "total value of library services" is from using collections and computers built over a number of years.

  Total value of library services measures benefit received each year through the use of accumulating materials and resources. This amount can be used in annual reports, newsreleases and presentations to your city council or community to give people an idea of the value of your library's benefit to the community.

  People may think the value of library benefits to the community approximately equals the amount of local funding. Comparing "total value of library services" with "local library funding" shows that libraries give back to the community much more.

  Total value / local funding is a quick way of showing annual benefits relative to the annual cost. Each local dollar supports an asset worth this many more dollars. Cutting funding deprives the community of this many dollars in benefits.

  Librarians and board members should note that total value / local funding is not a return on investment (ROI) because comparing a single year's investment with benefits from resources purchased with previous years' funds is misleading. And, as St. Louis Public Library administrators learned, business people will not believe such hign rates of return for a single year's funding. (Read the first long paragraph on "Results of the SLPL study.")

  Instead, I would point out that local library funding is not a for-profit investment. Local library funding is for long-term building and maintaining a necessary community asset, like streets. According to a March 2006 nationwide survey, Long Overdue, many citizens appear to view libraries as community assets, like streets.

  Ninety-one percent of library users and nonusers agreed that public libraries are essential for maintaining a productive community.

  • Percentage who strongly agreed: 63%
  • Percentage who somewhat agreed: 29%
  • Percentage who somewhat disagreed: 2%
  • Percentage who strongly disagreed: 4%

  Seventy-eight percent believe shutting down the library would be felt by the whole community.

  • Important loss affecting the whole community: 78%
  • Important loss affecting only a few people: 17%
  • Loss is not important: 3%
  • Don't know: 1%

  Both library users and nonusers agree that public libraries use money well in building this asset.

  "Do you believe that libraries ...	Users	Nonusers
  ... use the money well?	78%	66%
  ... misuse money?	14%	27%
  ... Don't know?	7%	7%

  
  
  

  Acknowledgements: I wish to thank Don Reynolds and Steve Read for the stimulation and guidance which lead to this analysis. - Chris Rippel