Transcript Measuring (and Increasing) the Value of Libraries

DREaM Project Conference
British Library, 9th July 2012
Opening keynote presentation
Carol Tenopir
University of Tennessee, USA
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Building evidence of the value and
impact of library and information
services: Methods, metrics, and ROI
Carol Tenopir
University of Tennessee
[email protected]
DREaM Conference
July 9, 2012
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Today’s topics…
• Lib-Value project overview
• Defining value in the library and
information context
• Techniques and examples:
– Critical incident
– ROI and contingent valuation
– Qualitative and personas
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Lib-Value: Multiple academic institutions using
multiple methods to measure multiple values for
multiple stakeholders
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Current projects
Ebooks
Special
Collections
Information
Commons
Journal
Collections
Methods for
Measuring
Value
Teaching and
Learning
Digitization
Website and
Value
Bibliography
Reading and
Scholarship
Center for Information and Communication Studies
In the information context economist
Machlup described 2 types of value:
1. purchase or exchange value: what one
is willing to pay for information in money
and/or time, and
2. use value: the favorable consequences
derived from reading and using the
information.
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Lib-Value comprehensive library value
study (Bruce Kingma)
• Economic (private)
– What is the value to an individual to use the library
resources?
• Social (public)
– What is the value to the institution of the library?
• Environmental (externality)
– What is the value of the environmental savings of
library provision of electronic resources?
– Have libraries gone green without knowing it?
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Value of reading can be
measured in many ways*
1) Implied value (i.e., usage, downloads)
2) Explicit value (i.e., outcomes, critical incident)
3) Derived values (i.e., contingent valuation, ROI)
*These methods are useful in any type of library, but
most of my examples are from academic libraries
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Implied value: Downloads
UTK Article Downloads
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Readings per year
Article readings 1977 to present by
scientists and social scientists
*
*2011-2012 (UIUC) n=639, (UK),n=1013;
2005,n=932; 2000-03, n=397; 1993, n=70;
1984, n=865; 1977, n=2350
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Going beyond implied value to
show…
Exchange
Use/Outcomes
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Tenopir & King scholarly reading
studies, 4 types of questions:
1. Demographic
2. Recollection
3. Critical Incident
Therefore, insights into
both READERS and
READINGS
4. Comments
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Critical incident of last reading
“The following questions in this section
refer to the SCHOLARLY ARTICLE YOU
READ MOST RECENTLY, even if you
had read the article previously. Note that
this last reading may not be typical, but
will help us establish the range of
patterns in reading.”
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Time spent (exchange value) reading
•Article
•49 min/article X 22 read per month X 12 months =
216 hours
•Book
•106 min/book X 7 per month X 12 months=
148 hours
•Other Publication
•42 min/publication X 10 per month X 12 months=
84 hours
U.K. academics spend on average per year nearly
three months of their work time reading scholarly
material.
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Percent
A majority of articles are from
the library:
UK, n=1189, June 2011;
UIUC, n=256 April 4, 2012
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Use of library collections for articles
N=775, 6 UK universities, June 6 2011
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Environmental and exchange value
Average last 30
Activity
days
Physical visits
2.9 visits
Remote visits
14.2 visits
Average total resources used:
in-person visit to the library
7.3 uses
remotely online
14.9 uses
% of
respondents
73%
88%
80%
89%
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Source of reading by purpose of
reading: Faculty in UK
Teaching
Research
Current
Awareness
n=1161, 2011
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Outcomes of journal article reading
1st Inspire new thinking or ideas
54%
2nd Improve results
38%
3rd Narrow/broaden/change the focus
28%
4th Resolve technical problems
10%
5th Save time or other resources
10%
6th Aid in faster completion
5%
7th Assist or result in collaboration/joint
research
4%
n=2117, 6 UK universities,
June 2011
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Return on investment in a strict sense…
…is a quantitative measure expressed as a ratio of
the value returned to the institution for each
monetary unit invested in the library.
For every $/€/£ spent on the library,
the university receives ‘X’ $/€/£ in return.
Demonstrate that library collections contribute to
income-generating activities
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Library’s value to the grants process
9 institutions in 8 countries
http://libraryconnect.elsevier.com/whitepaper
s/roi2/lcwp021001.html
Center for Information and Communication Studies
ROI from access to journal articles cited in grant
proposals
Research
STM
• 13.2:1 to 15.5:1
Research and
Teaching
STM/Hum/SS
• 1.3:1 to 3.4:1
Research and
Teaching
• Under 1:1
Center for Information and Communication Studies
ROI through contingent valuation
an economic method of evaluation of services
and goods which looks at the implications of
not having the services.
Center for Information and Communication Studies
National Network of Libraries of
Medicine: Retail Value Calculator
• http://nnlm.gov/mcr/evaluation/calculator.html
• How much would it cost to replace your
library services on the retail market?
• Calculate what it would cost to buy library
services - at a book store, through pay per
view for articles, from an information broker if you and your library weren't there.
Center for Information and Communication Studies
National Network of Libraries of
Medicine: Library value calculator
• http://nnlm.gov/mcr/evaluation/roi.html
• How much benefit does your institution, your
user, receive for every dollar spent by the
library?
• Value of benefits and costs for each service
• Total value of your library use
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Measuring the ROI of Today’s
Libraries: About the study:
•Part of a grant to assess the
value and ROI of academic
library services (Lib-value)
•Assesses the use, value,
and ROI of 77 academic
library services
•This data is from Bryant
University
•Similar project underway at
Drexel University (May
2012).
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Readings from the Library
No. of readings from library
Total Number of Readings from Library per year
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Purchase Value of Some
Services:
• The hourly rate of users:
– Faculty: $56.20 per hour
– Staff: $36.00 per hour
– Students: $34.60 per hour
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Contingent Value
• The cost of not having access to libraryprovided articles.
• Faculty-only (students not asked)
• Total cost: $408,600
• Cost per Faculty: $1,200
• Cost per reading: $27
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Return on investment is also…
…values of all types and outcomes
that come to stakeholders and the
institution from use of the library’s
collections, services, and
contribution to its communities.
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Academics praise the library
for its long-term outcomes
The journal
collection at
my institution
is excellent
and
scholarship
is all the
richer for the
contribution
for easy
access to
journals and
print
publications.
Electronic access to the
university library system from offsite is crucial for swift access to
articles to support my teaching
and research activities.
Library resources have
been essential to my
work for the past 20
years.
Center for Information and Communication Studies
What a ‘successful’ academic
looks like:
•Has won an award in the last two years.
•Publishes four or more items per year.
•Reads more of every type of material.
•Spends more time per book and other publication
readings.
•Uses the library for articles
•More often buys books and obtains other
publications from the Internet.
•Occasionally participates and creates social
media content.
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Persona: “Akrum Patel”
•
I would like my library
to have subscriptions
to more journals and
for longer periods of
time.
•
•
Key Facts:
• Associate professor in physics.
• Reads 30 articles, 2 books, and 11 other
publications per month.
What he needs:
• Current issues of articles.
• Off-site access to collections.
• Access to search engines and online resources
without a distinction between library and non-library
resources.
Factors:
• Reads seminal books.
• Wants to see trends over time.
• Has not visited a physical library for many years.
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Persona: “Sally Fitzgerald”
My research and teaching
cannot exist without
[library’s e-collections]…and
not finding them right away
is heavily disruptive on my
work.
•
•
•
Key Facts:
– Spends majority of time on research
and teaching.
– Reads 30 articles and 15 books per
month.
What she needs:
– Older articles in addition to new
publications.
– Frustrated when can only find abstracts
and not full-text.
Factors:
– Library doesn’t always have the books
she needs.
– Needs wide range of material.
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Value is demonstrated by time
invested, by value to purpose, by
outcomes of use and by ROI.
Multiple methods should be
used to measure value.
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Some final thoughts on measuring value
• Tie what you measure to the
mission
• Quantitative data can show ROI
and trends
• Qualitative data tell a story
• No one method stands alone
• Measure outcomes, not inputs
• The further downstream the
value, the more challenging to
measure, but perhaps the
most important.
Center for Information and Communication Studies
More details and searchable Lib-Value
bibliographic database available on the
project website:
http://libvalue.cci.utk.edu
Center for Information and Communication Studies
For further information:
[email protected]
Center for Information and Communication Studies
Center for Information and Communication Studies