The Value of Public Libraries
One of the topics often discussed by our section is the Value of Public Libraries to their community – also referred to as ‘Return on Investment’ or ROI.
Over the past few years we have noted a few of these on our blog. This document provides a link through to those blog posts.
If you have more studies to add to our list please contact us at: iflapubliclibraries@gmail.com
- Value of Public Libraries 26 January 2013
This detailed list provides details of a number of reports and studies from around the world with abstracts and links where available. This is a great place to start your research. - Library Value in the Developing World 22 February 2013
Reports on a project by SAGE to to investigate library value in the developing world - So Much More: The Economic Impact of the Toronto Public Library System 10 January 2014
This was the first Canadian study to measure the library’s economic impact on Toronto. - Value of Library Visits 26 June 2014
The Archives, Library and Museum Alliance UK (ALMAUK) has put a value on public library visits following research on how users feel about them. This is complemented by a toolkit. - Creative Communities: the cultural benefits of Victoria’s public libraries 11 September 2014
This report focuses on the cultural benefits that libraries deliver to their communities in the Australian state of Victoria.
Other projects which haven’t been reported on the blog:
- A national report on the return on investment of Australian public libraries
- The Value of Public Libraries, 2014 A report from Arts Council England on the economic, health and wellbeing impacts of public libraries
- Suffolk Libraries UK: A Predictive Impact Analysis 2019
- Democratising Entrepeneurship, 2019 A three year economic impact analysis of the British Library’s Business and IP Centre Network