May 23rd, 2007 Brian Herzog
The topic of economic justification of libraries seems omnipresent, and looms over libraries of all sizes.
I recently wrote about the Library Use Value Calculator on my library’s website, which is a simple tool that tries to give the cost of libraries some context. It shows just how much money a patron would have to spend in order to receive the same materials and services outside the library, in an effort to make the tax money they spend on the library a bit more tangible.
I bring this up again because, earlier this month, the Americans for Libraries Council released a report called “Worth Their Weight: An Assessment of the Evolving Field of Library Valuation” (info; pdf [1.3M]). It’s 104 pages long, and provides “an overview of the cutting-edge field of library valuation, or models for expressing a library’s multiple contributions to its community in dollars and cents.”
I haven’t read the whole thing, but I did read page 24 - where they mention the Chelmsford Library and the Library Calculator.
Chapter 3 of the report is titled “Examples Illustrating Methodologies and Trends,” and under Section 3.6 - Encouraging Developments, they cite how we adapted for our website the Library Value Calculator from the MLA, and that it subsequently spread to other libraries as a valuable tool.
So, hooray for recognition. But more importantly, the report covers many aspects of library valuation, including valuation methods and tools, tips from the private sector, and additional case studies and examples from other libraries. Any library facing budget issues or closure might benefit from this report.
More Library Valuation resources:
Thanks to staff from the Montgomery City-County (AL) Public Library for point out this report to me.
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April 10th, 2007 Brian Herzog
I liked Jessamyn’s post about the high cost of everything. Databases are expensive, and intangible, which makes it trickier to justify them. But librarians are often challenged to justify our existence in general, and the burden is usually on us to convey to the public how valuable libraries are.
This talk about how much things cost reminded me of the Library Use Value Calculator. This tool lets patrons enter their library usage (how many books they check out, how many reference questions they ask, etc), and see a dollar figure of how much their library usage would cost them if they had to pay for it “retail.”
The calculator we use started as a spreadsheet developed by the Massachusetts Library Association, which I then converted to javascript to be more interactive. The Maine State Library then approached me, asking if they could edit my code and make available a more accessibility-enabled version with installation instructions.
They did, and since then it has spread. Here’s a list of library websites that either feature or link to the calculator (if I missed you, please include a link to your library in the comment section). Below that are a few other blogs and websites that mention the calculator, including Library Journal and PLA.
If you’re a librarian and looking for a tool to justify your existence, this might be a way to give people actual numbers. Feel free to modify and reuse the calculator code yourself, and let me know if I can help - bherzog@mvlc.org.
Libraries using the Library Use Value Calculator
People talking about the Library Use Value Calculator
Again, If you’re a librarian and looking for a tool to justify your existence, this might be a way to give people actual numbers. Feel free to modify and reuse the calculator code yourself, and let me know if I can help - bherzog@mvlc.org.
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