Allen County residents who have visited the renovated downtown library or any of the county’s 13 branches already know the quality-of-life value of their rich community resource. Same with the patrons of Kendallville’s new library on Bixler Lake or Columbia City’s Peabody Library, with an observation deck overseeing an adjacent wetlands.
Now, an Indiana University report confirms the economic value of the state’s public libraries: A total market value of goods and services estimated at $629.9 million and a return of $2.38 on each dollar of investment. The report, by the Indiana Business Research Center at IU’s Kelley School of Business, concludes that public libraries are a good value, serving as “an important channel for literacy, education and information.”
“Public libraries are worth a lot more than they cost,” said Timothy Slaper, IBRC director of economic analysis and co-author of the report. “The 2.38-to-1 benefit-to-cost ratio represents a very conservative and defendable estimate of the value Hoosiers derive from their libraries.”
The report comes none too soon. Libraries, like other local agencies and governmental bodies, can expect more scrutiny. The legislature will be reacting to a lot of pressure to consolidate, coordinate and generally streamline local government.
The study on Hoosier libraries was based on an economic-impact analysis, a benefit-cost analysis of library services and surveys of public library patrons and staff. The researchers also conducted case studies of 12 local libraries, which included interviews with business leaders, public school officials, chambers of commerce and local development officials.
One objective of the survey, commissioned by the Indiana State Library, was to determine what role public libraries play in economic development and how to enhance it. Information and support to businesses, job-search assistance, introduction of new technology and attractiveness of the community because of its cultural and educational assets were some of those benefits. Another was the fact that free library materials allow patrons to spend discretionary income with local businesses.
Libraries will be under scrutiny as lawmakers begin to review local government services. The report from the Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform, the panel co-chaired by former Gov. Joe Kernan and State Supreme Court Justice Randall Shepard, acknowledges both the value and shortfall of Indiana library services, noting “nearly 400,000 Hoosiers live in areas not covered by library services. In a knowledge-based economy and society, that’s unacceptable.”
While it acknowledges the value of libraries, the Kernan-Shepard report offers a recommendation likely to earn well-deserved attention: that the elected fiscal body of the municipal or county government approve budgets and bond issues passed by library boards and other special districts represented by appointed members.
How that might shake out in a reorganization of local government is anyone’s guess. An effort to move to elected library boards might be another option. Regardless, increased scrutiny of taxpayer spending makes it all the more important for Indiana libraries to make their economic case – and the IU report suggests it is a strong one.