Taxpayer Return on Investment in Florida Public LibrariesDr. José-Marie GriffithsOctober, 2004

Study Purpose

Identify:

– the economic contribution

– return on taxpayer investment

– of Florida’s public libraries

Background

• Literature review

• Environmental economists

• REMI

Methods• Took a conservative approach to estimating

benefits and returns thus the results can be considered a lower bound.

• The return-on-investment (ROI) and benefit to cost ratios (B/C) in this report are at least those reported.

MethodsUsed a variety of data collection and analytic

methods including – data reported to the state by the libraries

– a statewide household telephone survey of adults

– in-library user surveys of adults

– a follow-up survey of the libraries

– surveys of organizations

– an input-output econometric model

Household Interviews/In-Library Survey

Collected information about:– cost to use the library

– services used

– reasons for using the services

– importance of the services; ways the services were important

– what visitors would do to obtain the needed information if there were no public library

– likely cost in time and money to use the alternatives

Organization Survey

Determined:– use of public library services– cost to use these services– savings resulting from service use

Follow-up SurveyObtained some information about:

– use by tourists and school age children

– interlibrary lending and borrowing

– expenditures and income

– business-like operations run by the library, outside persons or vendors.

Results

Florida’s Public Libraries Return $6.54 for every $1.00 Invested

Revenue Investment

Total Investment

Economic Return: $2.93 Billion

Economic Returns ResultingFrom Florida's Public Libraries

(total $2.93 billion)

80%Added cost to usealternatives

15%Lost direct communityeconomic benefits

5%Lost direct user

economic benefits

+

New Jobs — 1 for every $6,448

Florida’s Public Libraries Increase GRP

Florida Public Libraries Increase Income in the State

$1.00

$12.66

$0.00

$2.00

$4.00

$6.00

$8.00

$10.00

$12.00

$14.00

Publicsupport tolibraries

Floridaincomeincrease

Income Increases from Public Support of Florida Public

Libraries

Florida’s Public Libraries are Extensively Used —

94 million In Person and Remote Visits

68 million in-person visits

25.2 million remote Internet connections (not including children or tourists)

Florida’s Public Libraries are Used by 11.8 Million People Annually

Florida’s Public Libraries are Used by All Segments

of the PopulationFlorida Public Library Usersby Gender (total: 8.4 million,

excludes tourists)

70%

30%

Males

Examples:

14%

86%

HispanicNon-Hispanic

Florida Public Library Users byEthnicity

(total: 6.7 million adults, excludes tourists)26%

25%21%

22%

6%

Under $30,000$30,000 - $50,000$50,000 - $75,000$75,000 - $150,000More than $150,000

Florida Adult Library Users byAnnual Household Income

(total: 6.7 million adults)

What Do People Do When They Visit the Library?

What Do People Do When They Visit the Library?

Checking Out/Borrowing Materials from the Libraryby Adult Florida Residents

(29.8 million uses)

73%

17%Videos, etc.

10%CDs, etc.

Books

What Do People Do When They Visit the Library?

What Do People Do When They Visit the Library?

Use of Reference Services byAdult Florida Residents

(25.2 million uses)

40%Use referencematerials in thelibrary

38%Ask librarianfor help

22%Ask librarian toconduct search

What Do People Do When They Use Public Libraries Through Remote

Internet Connections?

1%

4%

7%

9%

11%

14%

18%

36%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

Ordered a photocopy

Online reference via e-mail

Viewed or downloaded e-books

“Ask a Librarian” service

Viewed or downloaded article

Searched online database

Reserved a book

Searched online catalog

Remote Internet Usesof Florida’s Public Libraries

(total: 25.2 million)

People Use Public Libraries for Many Purposes

Purpose of Use of Public Libraries by Adults(Total: 59.9 million uses)

32%

27%

24%

17%

RecreationalPersonalEducationalWork-related

Recreational Uses

•total of 19.2 million uses

• 65 percent were in-person visits

• 35 percent were remote Internet connections to the libraries.

•In 59 percent of the visits, the users had something specific in mind.

Personal Uses

3%

4%

5%

5%

5%

10%

12%

17%

17%

22%Other

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

Occasional problem

Learn about culture, religion, etc.

Job hunting

Day-to-day needs, e.g., shopping

Correspond with friends

News

Personal finances

Health and wellness

Hobby or work around the home

Percentage of Uses of Florida Libraries forPersonal Information Needs

Educational Uses

78%

22%

As studentsAs teachers

Educational Uses of Public Librariesby Florida Adults

(total: 16.0 million uses)

Work-Related Uses

Types of Work-Related Uses of Public Libraries(Total: 6.2 million uses)

42%

31%

25%18%

12%

10%

8%7%6% 10%

Research

Start or locate abusinessManagementMarketing/sales

Operations

Legal

Financial

Locate a person

Tax

Other

Public Libraries are Rated Important for All Purposes of Use

3.62

3.77

4.35

4.27

0 1 2 3 4 5

Recreational

Personal

Educational

Work-related

Average Rating of Importance of Public Librariesby Type of Need/Use

(1= Not Important; 5 = Very Important)

Direct Benefits: $6.0 Billion/year

Total Economic Benefit ofFlorida’s Public Libraries to Individualsby Purpose of Use and to Communities

(total: $6.0 billion)

14%

32%

26%

2%

26%

Work-related

Education

Personal

Recreation

Communities

$2.1 Billion to the Workplace

Public Library Direct Economic Contribution tothe Workplace (total: $2.1 billion)

39%

24%

37%Monetary savings from nothaving to use alternatives(net benefit of $835million)Use of the resources andservices provided by thelibrary (use benefit of $514million)Financial flows to Floridabusinesses (flow benefit of$784 million)

$2.1 Billion Per Year to Education

Public Library Direct Economic Contributionto Education

(total: $2.1 billion)

52%48%

Use of libraryresources/servicesNet benefit fromexistence oflibrary

$1.6 Billion per Year to Personal Information Needs

Public LibraryDirect Economic Contributionto Personal Information Needs

(Total: $1.6 billion)

51%49%

UsebenefitNetbenefit

$136,000 per Year to Recreational Needs

9%

14%

16%

20%

20%

21%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

Prompted newway of thinking

Helped learnsomething new

Led to othersources

Inspired

Encouragedfurther reading

Broadenedperspective

Direct Use Benefits of PublicLibraries for Recreational Needs

(Total: 19.2 million uses per year)

Direct Benefits: $6.0 Billion/year

Total Economic Benefit ofFlorida’s Public Libraries to Individualsby Purpose of Use and to Communities

(total: $6.0 billion)

14%

32%

26%

2%

26%

Work-related

Education

Personal

Recreation

Communities

Benefit/Cost Ratios

• The B/C (Availability) of Florida’s public libraries is 5.2 to 1.

– $2,331.922 million ÷ $448.903 million = 5.2• The benefit (B) to the state (in terms of availability

of Florida’s public libraries) is $2.3 billion, measured as the total cost to use alternatives, if the public libraries did not exist. The cost (C) is $449 million.

Benefit/Cost Ratios

• The B/C (Use) of Florida’s public libraries is 7.2 to 1.

– $3,211.219 million ÷ $448.903 million = 7.2• The benefit (B) to the state (in terms of time and

money saved through use of Florida’s public libraries) is $3.2 billion. The cost (C) is $449 million.

B/C REMI

• The B/CREMI (Wages) is 5.0 to 1

– The benefit (B) to the state (in terms of wages) is $9.2 billion. The cost (C) is $1.83 billion.

• The B/CREMI (GRP) is 3.7 to 1

– The benefit to the state (in terms of GRP or output) is $6.7 billion. The cost (C) is $1.83 billion.

Florida’s Public Libraries Return $6.54 for every $1.00 Invested

Dr. José-Marie Griffiths

Dean, School of Information and Library Science

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Email: jmgriff@unc.edu

Web: http://ils.unc.edu/sils/

Phone: (919) 962-8368