Measuring (and Increasing) the Value of Academic Libraries

Abstract

The value of the university library to faculty, students, and administrators has long been assumed. In an era of decreasing resources and increasing choices, academic librarians must now find the best ways to measure and demonstrate the value of the library to all of their stakeholders, including faculty members, graduate students, undergraduate students, administrators, and funders. Techniques to assess and measure value can also help library decision makers select the products and services that provide the highest return on investment (ROI) to the university community. It is important to measure and convey the value of the academic library; it is also possible to increase the value of the library to the university by carefully refocusing the academic library’s products and services. In this presentation I will discuss methods and results from a recently completed study in eight countries that measured the value and ROI of e-journals to the grants process. The Return on Investment (ROI) of the e-journals collection to grant funding ranged from over 15:1 to just under 1:1 in 9 institutions. In addition, many other qualitative and quantitative measures of value are as important as derived measures like ROI. Building on that research study, I am now leading a team that includes the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and several university libraries in a project funded by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. We are collecting data using on the value of a wide range of library services using several methods for measuring the value of what the university library contributes to the institution and its stakeholders.