Measuring Your Library's Value

by American Library Association, Sterling W. Hayden, Glen E. Holt

Under pressure to quantify the benefits your library provides? Is a cost-benefit analysis right for your institution? With tax-funded organizations under microscopic scrutiny, library directors need to make a strong public case for the value their library provides. Measuring Your Library's Value , designed to serve large to medium sized public libraries, gives librarians the tools to conduct a defensible and credible cost-benefit analysis (CBA). This hands-on reference covers the economic basics with librarian-friendly terms and examples, preparing library leaders to collaborate with economist-consultants. Library directors and Authored by members of the team that developed, tested, and perfected this methodology for over a decade, Measuring Your Library's Value is based on research funded by IMLS and PLA. Now you can credibly measure the dollars and cents value your library provides to your community.

Perfect Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few of the suggestions contained in Elliot's book will be of value to small and medium sized libraries, particularly for guidance on how to phrase questions on a survey. However, the book is really about how the particular (very large) libraries did a cost-benefit analysis -- skip it if you don't have the funds to spend on a large, outsourced project of your own.

[Walt · Rating 2 out of 5]

The theory behind a CBA is to use patron surveys to obtain a perceived value of the library in the patrons' minds and compare that estimation to actual library costs. While statistically valid, I still feel that it rests on shaky logic.