Taxpayer
Return on Investment
 in Florida Public Libraries
May 2010

Phyllis K. Pooley, M.B.A., J.D.
Associate Director
Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development
University of West Florida
Principal Investigator

Rick Harper, Ph.D.
Director
Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development
University of West Florida

Melissa Neal, Ph.D.
Research Assistant
Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development
University of West Florida

Rod Lewis, Ph.D.
Research Associate
Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development, Emerald Coast
University of West Florida

Jennifer Whitfield
Digital Media Coordinator
Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development
University of West Florida

Michael Scheibe
Research Manager
Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development
University of West Florida

Acknowledgements

The Haas Center wishes to acknowledge the contributions made by the persons and organizations that participated in this study in various capacities.  Without their support, this study could not have been completed.  These persons include:

• The staff at the State Library and Archives of Florida, who once again provided information, data and other support in a timely, extremely helpful manner.
• The members of the Taxpayer Return on Investment Study Advisory Group, who provided important guidance to the study:

Linda Allen	Pasco County Library System
Jurate Burns	Destin Library, Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative
John Callahan	Palm Beach County Library System
Doreen Gauthier	Doreen Gauthier Lighthouse Point Library
Debra Rhodes Gibson	St. Johns County Public Library System
Kevin Griffith	Pasco County Library System
Barrett King	Jacksonville Public Library
Robert Melanson	Winter Park Public Library
Donna Riegel	North Palm Beach Library
Gladys Roberts	Polk County Library Cooperative
John Van Berkel	Manatee County Public Library System

• Oppenheim Research of Tallahassee, Florida, for performing the telephone survey efficiently and effectively.
• All of the public libraries statewide that encouraged their patrons to complete our survey instruments.

And special thanks to the 2,998 adults and 167 organizations that responded to our surveys.

This study has been funded under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Florida Department of State, Division of Library and Information Services.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Florida’s public libraries are a key component in supporting the educational and learning needs of every person in the state. These libraries offer vital resources for early literacy development, homework help, home school families, continuing education and lifelong avocations. Florida public libraries are on the front lines of connecting people with essential government resources – including unemployment benefits, federal and state emergency assistance, tax filing and more. Public libraries are also logical partners for local economic development initiatives that focus on people and quality of life.  Florida public libraries are widely available, highly regarded public institutions that provide a broad range of information services and support for diverse constituencies.

This report describes a comprehensive study to assess taxpayer return on investment in Florida’s public libraries. The present study was commissioned to provide an update to the original study performed in 2004. In order to perform a comparable analysis, a statewide telephone survey of adult library users, with some minor changes to the original survey, was re-administered.  Additionally, in lieu of the in-house printed survey originally performed, an online Internet-based survey was conducted, with links to the survey instrument provided to the public libraries and the State Library and Archives. Organizations were also surveyed using an online instrument, with a link to the survey sent via e-mail.  The organizations contacted included public and private K-12 schools, universities and colleges, businesses and special libraries.  A follow-up survey to the libraries themselves was also re-administered to collect information on use by tourists and school-age children and additional information on business-like operations run by the libraries.

In the prior 2004 study, an econometric input-output model (REMI) covering 169 sectors for the State of Florida was applied to Florida’s public libraries by the Center for Economic Forecasting and Analysis at Florida State University. This second analysis extended the economic contribution of libraries beyond the actual users of the libraries to yield a set of direct, indirect, and induced effects to the State of Florida and its communities.  The present study uses an updated version of the REMI model that includes the ability to analyze the economic contribution of libraries not only at the state level, but at the county level as well.

Key Findings
Overall, Florida’s public libraries return $8.32 for every $1.00 invested from all sources.

The total revenue investment in Florida’s public libraries was $661.5 million in 2008.  Based upon an analysis of what would happen if public libraries ceased to exist, the total economic return attributable to the existence of public libraries is $6.23 billion.  This figure includes the net benefits (added costs to use alternatives), the benefits that would be lost because some users would not bother to use alternatives and revenues that would be lost by vendors and contractors.

Using State Library and Archives of Florida data and survey results, the REMI (Regional Economic Models, Inc.) model looked at the initial public investment in public libraries and redistributed the money to alternative spending activities.  Projecting forward from 2008-2040, the REMI model indicated that if funding for public libraries was reallocated across Florida government sectors, the result to the state economy would be a net decline of $15.2 billion in wages and 189,500 jobs.

For every $3,491 spent on public libraries from public funding sources in Florida, one job (in the economy, not just in libraries) is created.

For every dollar of public support spent on public libraries in Florida, Gross Regional Product (the value of all goods and services produced in the state) increases by $10.57.

For every dollar of public support spent on public libraries in Florida, income (wages) increases by $22.97.

Benefit to Cost ratios
A benefit to cost ratio is a way to mathematically illustrate the relationship between the costs of a service, such as the provision of a public library in a community, to the monetary benefits the service provides to its users. For example, if it cost the community $10 for one copy of a book, and 25 people check it out rather than having to buy it themselves, the benefit to cost ratio would be 25 to 1 ($250 dollars saved divided by the $10 cost).

The B/C (Availability) of Florida’s public libraries is 10.8 to 1 where the benefit to the state in terms of availability of Florida’s public libraries is the total cost to use alternatives of $4.3 billion divided by the cost of $668 millions (includes cost of multi-type cooperative support to public libraries).

The B/C (REMI Wages) is 7.5 to 1, where the benefit to the state in terms of wages is $21.8 billion and the cost is $2.9 billion.

The B/C (REMI GRP) is 5.1 to 1, where the benefit to the state in terms of GRP output is $14.9 billion and the cost is $2.9 billion.

I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.
Carl Sagan

Introduction
In 2004, a comprehensive study was performed on the ways Florida’s public libraries contribute economically to its users, the communities that it serves, and the state as a whole. The study used a variety of data collection and analytical methods, including data reported to the state by the public libraries, a statewide household telephone survey of adults, in-library user surveys of adults, a follow-up survey of the libraries themselves, surveys of organizations and an econometric model.¹

The present study was commissioned to provide an update to the 2004 study. In order to perform a comparable analysis, the statewide telephone survey of adult library users, with some minor changes to the original survey, was re-administered. Additionally, in lieu of the in-house printed survey, an online Internet-based survey was conducted, with links to the survey instrument provided to the public libraries and the State Library and Archives. The links were either included on the library’s home page or posted inside the library. Organizations were also surveyed using an online instrument, with a link to the survey sent via e-mail. The organizations contacted included public and private schools, universities and colleges, businesses and special libraries. The follow-up survey to the libraries themselves was also re-administered to collect information on use by tourists and school-age children and additional information on business-like operations run by the libraries. Where appropriate, findings from the 2004 study were used in the analysis conducted in the present study. This occurred when the findings were on issues unlikely to have changed in the 5-year period between surveys, such as the proportion of adult residents who visit Florida public libraries or the usage of libraries by non-residents.

As in the prior study, a conservative approach to estimating benefits and returns was used throughout the present study. The present study also categorizes the types of library visits utilized by the prior study. These are “(1) recreational and personal or family needs – health and wellness issues, job seeking, day-to-day problems such as consumer purchasing and finances, occasional problems like relocation and house buying, learning about culture or heritage, etc.; (2) educational needs – as students, teachers, home schooling, and lifelong learning; and (3) needs of businesses, non-profit organizations, schools, universities and colleges, government agencies and hospitals, through both direct use by their employees for work-related purposes and through extensive cooperation among librarians within these organizations, facilitated by the publicly supported multi-type library cooperatives in the state.”

Where the present study diverges most significantly from the previous study is in the geographic level of analysis and the addition of an alternate scenario in determining economic impact. In addition to providing analysis at the state level, analysis on economic benefit and ROI are provided at the individual county level. Also, in addition to demonstrating the economic impact of public libraries by modeling the redistribution of their revenues into other government sectors, this study also includes a scenario where the government spending is eliminated entirely, as would be the case if state and local tax revenues failed to collect sufficient monies to fund public libraries.

There are many ways to determine how public libraries contribute to state and local economies and how taxpayers receive return on their investment. This study duplicates the approaches used in the 2004 study and adds one additional social valuation method. Questions were asked of survey participants that were designed to elicit information on the perceived value placed on Florida public libraries by Florida residents. These questions included asking residents to contrast the importance and value of the public library with other public services, asking residents to value the library as a community in its influence on property values, asking residents if the public library is an institution they would choose to have in their neighborhood (versus other types of public services), and exploring perceptions of the public library as economic generator.

The final report consists of two parts. Part 1 contains a stand-alone executive summary report while Part 2 houses a more detailed description of the final analysis that includes an additional discussion of the methodology used and the survey instruments administered.

We do ourselves a disservice when we measure today's libraries against yesterday's services. With the vast digital resources that we make available to our users, the access to full text materials that are never "not on the shelf," the ability to search through huge bibliographic databases quickly and to download the results, there should be no question that libraries are worth every penny of the investment that goes into them.
Karen Coyle in "Technology and the Return on Investment"

Overview
Florida’s public libraries are a key component in supporting the educational and learning needs of every person in the state. These libraries offer vital resources for early literacy development, homework help, home-school families, continuing education and lifelong avocations. Today’s Florida public libraries are thriving technology hubs that thousands rely on for Internet access. In addition to providing free access to computers and the Internet, the majority of Florida public libraries offer high-speed access, digital reference and downloadable media.

Florida public libraries are on the front lines of connecting people with essential government resources – unemployment benefits, federal and state emergency assistance, tax filing and more. Public libraries are also logical partners for local economic development initiatives that focus on people and quality of life. Florida public libraries are widely available, highly regarded public institutions that provide a broad range of information services and support for diverse constituencies.

In a time of widespread economic turmoil, 14.3 percent of U.S. public libraries report decreased operating budgets in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009. Only 38 percent of libraries report budget increases at or above the rate of inflation, with more than half (53 percent) of the state library agencies that provide state funding to public libraries reporting declining state funding in FY2009, according to questionnaires to the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA). In Florida, library funding was cut in FY09 by 6.6 percent from prior year levels.

Public libraries are a hybrid organization in economic terms, providing a mix of public and private goods and services. Further, they generate a mix of direct and indirect, tangible and intangible benefits for both the individual user and for society, both today and into the future. When a state government cuts its expenditures, such as by eliminating state jobs or reducing purchases, the negative impact on the economy will likely exceed the amount of the initial reduction in government spending because these additional rounds of economic activity will also be curtailed.

Non-quantitative Measures
According to the work Unseen Measures: the need to account for intangibles, libraries have been attempting to assess intangibles such as “library goodness” and account for intangible assets or resources (i.e., the information and knowledge obtained and used by libraries to create and deliver products and services) for many years with no consensus or results. Libraries are currently being asked to provide more tangible strategic responses to their customers and stakeholders; are being required to more effectively account and compete for their resources; and are being asked to create, manage and deliver more intangible values and services to customers and stakeholders.

Library services can be difficult to measure because many of their benefits are often intangible. There is often no way to quantitatively measure how important a piece of information is to a particular individual; even if participants agree the information was important, they cannot necessarily put a dollar value on how important it was. There are methods, however, for evaluating services that attempt to put a dollar value on the tangible and intangible benefits of services. Business methods used for evaluating customer service and service quality that can be applied to library services include measuring money saved or productivity gains in using libraries, or by using cost-benefit analysis. This study utilizes some of these, but it is beyond the scope of the study to look at the value of Florida public libraries in other than financial or economic terms. See Figure 1.

Figure 1- Potential Economic Benefits from Public Libraries

Return on Investment
In 2008, Florida public libraries received $662 million to support all offered services.² This is an increase of 49 percent from 2004 but represents a less than 1 percent change from 2007 funding levels. As stated earlier, in FY09, library funding was cut 6.6 percent to $617 million. See Figure 2. Nearly all of the funding for public libraries is provided locally. See Figure 3.

Figure 2 - Florida Public Library Annual Revenues and Visits

Figure 3 - Public Library Funding by Source 2008

In order to determine the return on public library investment, an analysis method known as contingent valuation was used. This economic method of evaluation for non-priced goods and services looks at the implications of not having the goods/services. Thus this study, as was done in the prior study, considers the implications of not having public libraries in terms of User Investment, Cost to Use Alternatives, Community Economic Benefits and Lost Use Benefits.

Because the amount of time and expenses used to make use of library services is a discretionary one, it can be an indication of the value that library users place on public libraries. In 2008, this User Investment was $2.9 billion, representing a 69 percent increase over the $1.72 billion calculated in 2004.

Another value of the existence of public libraries is the Cost to Use Alternatives if the information was still needed and no public library was available. Over 52 percent of survey respondents indicated that they would use an alternative source. Collectively, these alternative sources would cost these users, according to their estimates, $7.19 billion dollars. This is up from a Cost to Use Alternatives of $4.05 billion in 2004.

The resulting Total Net Benefits to Users – the added cost to use alternatives if no public library existed – is $4.29 billion, an 83 percent increase from the $2.33 billion calculated in 2004. These increases in user costs and costs to replace library services represent not only higher prices from inflation, but also the increased use of computers and online services at public libraries.

Public libraries also generate Community Economic Benefits in the form of wages paid to staff, purchases made by the libraries, spending within the library itself and the additional spending that occurs during trips to the public library. In 2008, these Community Economic Benefits exceeded $1.1 billion.

If public libraries did not exist, users would be forced to find information and materials from other sources – although not all would. According to survey information, 19% of library users stated that they would not seek an alternative or would not know where to find the needed information. These uses result in direct economic benefits for the users, and these Lost Use Benefits, as derived from those users who would not seek alternatives, is estimated at $79 million in 2008. This is less than the $155 million estimated for 2004.

The estimated Economic Return attributable to the existence of public libraries – the Total Net Benefits to Users plus the Community Economic Benefits and Lost Use Benefits – is $6.23 billion for 2008. This is a 113% increase from the $2.93 billion reported in 2004.

Overall, Florida’s public libraries return $8.32 for $1.00 invested from all sources. This is an increase of $1.78 over the return on investment calculated in 2004. See Table 1.

Table 1 - Florida Public Libraries Return on Investment 2004 and 2008 Comparison

One reason for this increase has been the below normal increase in statewide funding of public libraries between 2007 and 2008. Because of the method used in calculating return on investment for public libraries, abrupt reductions in funding levels tend to make the return increase in the short term. This is because the value placed on the libraries by the public will tend to lag behind the actual ability of the libraries to provide service. As investment shrinks, there will be a gradual deterioration of services to the point where the value placed on these services and obtained from these services will also suffer.

Economic Impact of Public Libraries in Florida
The above economic analysis is static in that it ignores the economic effect public libraries have on other economic sectors over time. In the prior 2004 study, an econometric input-output model (REMI) covering 169 sectors for the State of Florida was applied to Florida’s public libraries by the Center for Economic Forecasting and Analysis at Florida State University. This second analysis extended the economic contribution of libraries beyond the actual users of the libraries to yield a set of direct, indirect, and induced effects to the State of Florida and its communities. The present study uses a different version of the REMI model to analyze the economic contribution of libraries not only at the state level, but at the county level as well.

REMI Model
There are several types of models typically used to calculate economic impacts. Input-output models use financial flow data generated from businesses’ accounting data, and spending patterns for households of particular income levels, to describe the economic linkages that exist within a regional economy. These models begin with US government-generated county level data on business purchases and receipts in order to model the inputs that are used from across the many sectors of the economy in the production of particular goods and services. The level of geographic and commodity detail can vary from production of printing ink, to storage batteries, to banking services in a geographic area as small as a zip code or as large as the national economy. The most commonly reported and useful level of detail is county-level geography at the 1 to 6 digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) level of commodity detail, whereas the previous 2004 report was conducted with the 1, 2, and 3 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code level of commodity detail. Examples of these models include the RIMSII modeling system from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the IMPLAN modeling system from MIG, Inc. of St. Paul, MN.

Econometric simulation models combine the sector detail and geography detail of input/output models but provide for functioning economic linkages between sectors and regions over time. The current study uses REMI PI+, Version 1.1.9 (Regional Economic Models, Inc.), in a 67 region (one for each county) structural econometric model of the state of Florida to calculate the impact. It incorporates the basic input/output linkages, but also uses econometrically estimated county-specific parameters (for example, interregional migration in response to changes in economic opportunities) in generating impact results. Because of these between-sector linkages, the model incorporates general equilibrium tendencies as the economy responds to shocks over time. That is, changes in spending in a region affect not just conditions in that market, but also in other markets within the region (economists term this a “general equilibrium”) and outside the region (via trade and also via migration in response to changes in economic opportunities). This is in contrast to traditional input-output models that are both static (all effects are assumed to occur simultaneously, so there is no adjustment path over time) and partial equilibrium (e.g., changes in employment do not change wage rates) in nature. This describes the phenomenon whereby, for example, a new financial services back office call center opens in a county, and bank managers throughout the county find they have to give staff a raise in order to keep them from leaving to take a job at the new call center. A traditional input-output model description of the economic impact would have held everything else fixed (including bank wages across the county) and simply documented the employment and job creation effects resulting directly at the new call center and indirectly via businesses in its supply chain, as well as household spending induced by the new income flows.

A simulation model such as REMI captures not only the spending effects flowing from the call center and its local suppliers and employees and owners, but also the spillover effects into other markets as wages and prices change due to competition for the same employees and other resources. These are the general equilibrium (equilibrium across all markets simultaneously) tendencies of the model. It also simulates the adjustment path over time of these market responses, using historical parameters estimated specifically for that county (the dynamic component). A rule of thumb is that the smaller the spending change being considered, the more appropriate it is to use the traditional input/output model. However, the general equilibrium and dynamic characteristics of an economic simulation model are particularly important when considering “large” changes. The presence or absence of over $668 million in government spending on public library systems in Florida is a “large” change, because spending of this magnitude is likely to have spillover impacts in other markets not directly in the public library related supply chain.

One other benefit of using an economic simulation model is particularly important when considering large spending flows. In an input-output model, impacts are usually measured as gross impacts, or additions to the area’s economy without consideration of the extent to which, for example, a project’s use of labor force may make labor more expensive to other businesses, or require additional infrastructure investment. The use of REMI attenuates this problem and so comes closer to an estimate of net, rather than gross, economic impacts because of the feedback effects present in this simulation model.

Methodology
The approach used in this simulation study examined two funding scenarios. Scenario 1 simply removes government spending for libraries and provides a basic value of that spending within the state of Florida. This scenario assumes that the tax monies spent on libraries are not collected and thus provides no tax cut or redirection of spending. Scenario 2 mimics the analysis done in the 2004 study by redistributing library revenues to other state and local government agencies, thus providing an economic comparison between governmental spending for libraries versus spending on other government functions.

Information for each of these scenarios was entered into the software at the county level, permitting results to be viewed not only statewide, but for each county as well. Dollar outputs are converted from the fixed year 2000 dollars used by REMI in its model output to 2008 dollars for reporting purposes.

Model Assumptions
As in the 2004 study, this report provides estimates of only the direct, pecuniary/financial benefits (or “return”) generated for the public sector as a result of the “investments” that the public makes in libraries via federal, state and local appropriated funds. This analysis excludes “returns” to the federal, state and local economies that are not financial benefits (these are known as “non-pecuniary/non-market” or “intangible” benefits such as cultural and other quality of life enhancements, higher levels of educational attainment, greater productivity through enhanced job placement or investment decisions, and so forth). Hence, the assumptions used to estimate the economic return to the state through its investments in libraries in this report can be characterized as conservative.

As stated in 2004, [i]t is important, however, to recognize that the benefits to the state of Florida associated with these intangible benefits of libraries are significant. The amenity values or benefits to the community by having a library present (and enhanced by the multi-faceted activities of libraries) can also be significant. Libraries provided access to financial information, job and career resources, computer technology and services, business resources, educational support for the community and support for public services. (McClure, Charles R., B.T. Fraser, T.W. Nelson, and J.B. Robbins. 2001, Economic Benefits and Impacts from Public Libraries in the State of Florida. Information Use Management and Policy Institute, School of Information Studies, Florida State University.) (quotation from A Study of Taxpayer Return on Investment in Florida Public Libraries, 2004.)

The model assumptions are:

1) The base model assumes a constant rate of growth for the economy over a thirty-two year (2008 to 2040) time horizon.
2) The models use actual FY2008 library revenues of $661.5 million.
3) It was assumed for each scenario that the absence of libraries would either mean that tax dollars would be redirected or not collected under Florida’s revenue schemes. No tax cut was built into any of the scenarios.
4) REMI results were expressed in terms of impacts on Gross Regional Product (the value of all goods and services produced in Florida), employment and personal disposable income.

Results of the REMI Analysis
Statewide
In Scenario 1, government spending that would have been directed to public libraries was redirected to other government spending activities. In Scenario 2, tax dollars are not collected and public library spending is redirected to consumers. Results are presented in 2008 dollars. Discounting analysis using a rate of 5% was used to present the economic impacts for years 2008 through 2040. Results for both scenarios are presented in Table 2 in comparison to results from 2004.

In Scenario 1, Gross Regional Product increases over $7 billion as a result of public library spending in Florida. This library-generated rise in state output increases wages by $15.2 billion and the number of jobs by 189,500 over the period. This in turn creates higher wage and salary earnings.

Table 2 - Results of REMI Analysis

The “benefits” to the State of Florida from a conservative perspective are defined as the total dollar amount leveraged by the investment in libraries based on all public funding sources. The “costs” to the State of Florida are defined as the initial public funding investment assumed to be redistributed to alternative government spending activities. Thus, if the funding for libraries were reallocated across Florida’s government sectors (Scenario 1), the state economy would see a net decline of $21.8 billion in terms of wages and 189,500 jobs in the 33-year period considered.

• Benefit to the state (in terms of wages) = $21.8 billion
• Cost to the state (in terms of public funding dollars and user time) = $2.9 billion
• B/CREMI = 7.5
Or:
• Benefit to the state (in terms of GRP or output) = $14.9 billion
• Cost to the state (in terms of public funding dollars and user time) = $2.9 billion
• B/CREMI = 5.1

The results of the economic analysis using the REMI model indicate that Florida public libraries contribute significantly to the Florida economy. The economic benefits from the expenditures made by the public libraries extend to job creation, generation of GRP and personal income. These benefits are substantially greater than the federal, state and local investment cost in public libraries.

To place the full value of public library spending in context, the $622 million of public library spending that occurred in 2008 generated over $1 billion in GRP. This amount was larger than the annual GRP of 26 of the 67 Florida counties.

Table 3 - Comparison of Public Library Generated GRP with Florida Counties

County Level ROI and REMI Modeling Results
Using statewide per capita averages and the individual county REMI results from Scenario 1, the following reports show both an estimated ROI for each county’s libraries, as well as economic impact results for these libraries’ spending in each Florida county. The ROI figures range from $2.58 for each dollar invested in Lee County to $30.35 for each dollar in Holmes County. It must be emphasized that these are rough estimates only, and each individual library or library system would have to be studied separately in order to refine these figures. It should also be noted that these ROI figures do not necessarily reflect upon the efficiency of library operations in that a lower number is “bad” and a higher number “good.” Instead, they demonstrate that even a small investment that keeps a library in existence within a community, no matter that community’s size, yields an extremely high value to that community. As stated in Are You Worth It? What Return on Investment Can and Can’t Tell You About Your Library, “For ROI library metrics, the point isn’t that putting more and more money into libraries will yield ever increasing returns. The point is to show that libraries are providing value for the money that is invested in them. Those investments should be commensurate with the needs of the communities they serve.” Essentially libraries are a public service that, when provided with the right amount of resources and investment, produce significant returns to their community.

In terms of economic impact, the economic impact results reflect a positive net economic impact of libraries on the individual county economies for 66 of the 67 counties. The sole exception is Suwannee County. While the libraries there return $7.40 for each dollar invested, the structure of county economy in the REMI model is such that a redistribution of library spending to other government sectors does not result in decreased GRP.

It helped my husband find his current job. Helped us find a workable budget for our home use. Our children have spent countless hours borrowing books and DVDs. The library helped us feel a part of the community.
Escambia County Library User

County Data >>

If you're rich you can buy books. If you're poor, you need a library.
John Kenneth Galbraith

Survey Analysis
In 2008/09 there were 84.3 million in-person visits to public libraries in Florida and 60.1 million virtual visits or remote connections. Florida public libraries are used an average of at least 7.8 times per Florida resident per year, up from the 5.24 times per year calculated in the prior 2004 study. Adult residents who use Florida public libraries via remote connection do so much more frequently than those who visit libraries in person, with an average of 56 connections reported per year.
As found in the 2004 study, library users tend to be female, slightly older, somewhat more educated, and slightly more affluent than the overall Florida population.

Figure 4 - Survey Demographics

Services offered by public libraries include checking out materials such as books, magazines and DVDs; reference services that help users find the answers or materials they are seeking; Internet and database services both in the library and via remote connection; and educational and entertainment experiences. People make use of all of the wide range of services offered in the public libraries, although checking out materials for outside use still dominates. See Figure 5.

Indispensible, essential and important to a sense of community. The library is not just books and buildings, it is our cultural repository and vital for education. Without the library, the community would not be nearly as valuable and livable.
Monroe County Public Library User

Figure 5 - Services Used In Library Visits

Most library visitors reported that they do not use the Internet while at the library. Those that do, however, average 56 minutes online per visit.

Figure 6 - In Library Internet Use

Florida’s public libraries are also used by librarians in other organizations, such as schools, colleges and universities, businesses, hospitals and governments. Organizations also use public library meeting rooms, participate in library-sponsored groups and training and use the public libraries’ access to online databases and electronic publications.

Figure 7 - Organizational Uses of Public Library Services

Remote use of public libraries is still very much a factor of comfort with the use of computers. Those who participated in the online version of the library user’s survey were more than twice as likely to have connected to the library online as were those contacted by telephone.

Figure 8 - Remote Connection by Adult Public Library Users

Note: Barcode refers to the number on a user’s library card. This number is required for use of some remote services.

Public libraries are used for many different purposes and these can be categorized as personal and recreational, educational and work-related.

Figure 9 - Purpose of Visits

Personal and recreational uses of library services account for 58 percent of all uses by adult Florida residents.

Figure 10 - Adult Library User Recreational and Personal Uses

Public libraries are used to support the educational needs of persons as both students and teachers, with the majority of the uses as students.

Figure 11 - Educational Uses of Public Libraries

Florida public libraries are also used to support residents’ work-related needs involving research, business start-ups, finances and tax information.

Figure 12 - Work-Related Uses of Public Libraries

The importance of public libraries in supporting users’ varying purposes and goals is evident by the importance users place on these services.

Figure 13 - Importance of Information Provided by Public Library

If there were no public library, the vast majority of users would pursue other sources for the information they need, yet a surprising number would still need the services but not know how to replace them.

Figure 14 - In the Absence of Public Libraries

The cost to use alternatives include the cost of user time as well as monetary costs related to purchasing or renting items and traveling to alternative locations. For those uses for which a known alternative is used, the cost to access or acquire the alternatives would be an estimated $7.1 billion, up from $4.1 billion in 2004.

Halo Spending
Public library users often combine trips to the public library with other activities such as shopping, eating at restaurants, etc. The spending by users in these activities is referred to as “halo” spending. If there were no public libraries these other activities and corresponding spending would decline to some degree. Approximately 35 percent of survey respondents reported performing extra activities in conjunction with a trip to the library. See Figure 15.

Figure 15 - Other Activities Performed During Trip to Public Library

Those who visited other places along with the library reported spending an average of $47.90 on these trips. A 1997 study found that approximately 23 percent of these purchases would not occur if the library did not exist. See What Happens When a Public Library Service Closes Down? Proctor, R., Usherwood, B., Sobczyk, G. Library Management. MBC University Press, vol. 18, No. 1, 1997, pp. 59-64.

Social Value
Public support of public libraries is a reflection of, and therefore depends upon, the perceived value of the library to each taxpayer, family and community. Perceived value is the benefit a consumer expects to gain from a product or service, either tangibly or psychologically. The perceived value of a product or service has a direct effect on demand for that product or service.

The price or cost of an item is typically used as a way to determine its value to an individual. Where services are provided for free or at a cost not readily ascertainable to the user, as is the case with public libraries, other methods are needed to measure perceived value.

One way is to ask users to rank order or rate an item amongst a list of other items in order to determine preference. When asked which they would prefer to have on their own street in a new community, nearly half of Florida residents said they preferred a public library over a park, police station, job center or elementary school.

Figure 16 - Most Want to Have on Own Street

Public library users were also asked their perceptions on the impact a public library located near their home would have on property values. Over one-half thought that their property values would increase if a public library located nearby. See Figure 17.

Figure 17 - Effect on Perceived Property Values

Florida public library users were also asked how they viewed public libraries – as an essential service or cultural amenity. Over 80 percent saw public libraries as an essential service.

Figure 18 - Essential Service or Cultural Amenity

Lastly library users were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with three statements regarding public libraries.

Figure 19 - Agreement with Statements about Public Libraries

There are also methods that help quantify perceptions of perceived value by asking people to place dollar values on their choices. The fundamental monetary measure of value in economics is based on the concept of substitution and trade-offs that can be expressed in terms of willingness to pay or willingness to accept payment. Based on his or her economic situation, each individual can choose to consume private, public and other non-market goods, including library services. The trade-offs that people make as they choose less of one good and substitute more of another reveal something about the values people place upon these goods.

The contingent valuation method is a direct and explicit method that uses surveys to value public goods. The method circumvents the absence of markets for public goods by presenting the respondents with a hypothetical market in which they have the opportunity to “buy” or “sell” the good in question. The method is based on the individual’s own assessment of the good to be valued and aims at eliciting people’s willingness to pay in money amounts for a change in the provision of a non-market good, such as public libraries.

Florida public library users were asked both how much they would sell their library card for as well as how much they would pay to buy a card annually. The average “selling price” was $26.84 – although fully 56 percent of respondents said they would not give up their library card. The average price to “buy” a card was $31.34, although over 35% of respondents were willing to pay $31 or more per year. See Figure 20.

Figure 20 - Willingness to Buy or Sell a Public Library Card

Conclusion
It is apparent from all that has gone before that Florida public libraries offer both perceived and real value to Florida’s citizens and those who visit here. Public libraries do more than provide dollar for dollar return on the services they provide, but instead provide a synergistic multiplied impact that far exceeds the monies invested in them. While the preceding analysis was limited in scope to the financial return on investment, it is abundantly clear that the impact public libraries provide in social value and the creation of a knowledgeable and well-informed public far outstrips their value in monetary terms.

Appendix I - Survey Results
About how many times have you visited a Florida public library in the past 12 months?

Do you have a public library card?

If you were to sell a public library card each year, how much would you ask for it?
If you paid a price for your public library card each year instead of paying taxes, how much would you be willing to pay for it?

Approximately how much time does it take you to get to the library you visited most in the last 12 months?

Average time: 15.3 minutes

How do you usually get there?

About how much does it cost you to get to the library, including gasoline and parking?

Average cost: $2.49

Approximately how much time did you spend in the library on your last visit?

Average time: 54.7 minutes

Did you do any other activities as part of your last trip to the library?

What activities did you do as part of that last trip to the library?

About how much did you spend on other activities during your last trip to the library? Please provide your best estimate.

Average spending: $47.90

I am going to read you a list of library services. Please tell me which services you used during the last 12 months. Have you:

Which of those services did you use on your last visit? Did you:

How much time did you spend on the Internet during your last visit to the library?

Patrons use their public library for many reasons. I am going to read you a list of typical reasons. Please tell me ALL the reasons why you used the library on your LAST visit.

With 1 being not at all important, and 5 being absolutely essential, how important was the information provided by the library service in meeting your needs on your last visit?

In what ways was the information or services important in meeting your needs on your last visit?

How much time did you save?

Average time: 3 hours per visit

How much money did you save?

Average money: $166.72 per visit

If there were no public library, what would you do to address your reason(s) for your last visit?

About how much time do you think it would take to use this other source?

Average time: 84 minutes per visit

About how much money do you think it would cost to use this other source?

Average cost: $124.26 per visit

Public libraries in Florida provide library cardholders with remote access from home, office and other sites to various databases and services via the Internet. Are you aware of this service?

Have you ever connected to a Florida public library via the Internet?

About how many times have you connected in the past 12 months?

Have you ever used public library services via the Internet that required a library card barcode number?

About how many times have you used these services in the past 12 months?

If you were moving into a new community, which of these would you most want to have on your own street?

Do you think that having a public library located very close to your own home would increase or decrease property values, or would it make no difference?

Do you agree or disagree with the following ideas:

Are you more likely to think of your local public library as an essential service like a school, or more of a cultural amenity like an art gallery?

In which Florida county do you live?

Gender

W hat is your age now?

What is the highest grade or level of school that you have completed?

Which of the following best describes your race:

What other way would you classify your race?___________________ (2028-2047)

Which of the following BEST describes your current employment status?

Which of the following BEST describes your employer or place of business?

Approximately what was your total annual household income in 2008 before taxes?

Appendix II - Survey of Organizations Results
1. What is your title?

Type of organization?

2. The Florida Electronic Library is a gateway to select Internet resources for current events, business, health issues, homework help, finding full-text articles, and Florida history and information.

Do you or members of your library staff use the Florida Electronic Library for business and/or professional purposes?

3. Were you aware of the Florida Electronic Library before you read the previous question?

4. About how many times each month do you or members of your library staff use the Florida Electronic Library for business and/or professional purposes?

8. Do you or other members of your library staff use the services of the local public library for business and/or professional purposes? Please check all that apply.

9 . Which of the following services of the public library have you or members of your library staff used for business and/or professional purposes?

10. On average, about how much total time do you and members of your library staff spend using public library services for business and/or professional purposes each month?

11. On average, about how many documents do you estimate that your library obtains from the local public library each month?

12. In the last 12 months which alternative information sources have you or a member of your library staff used for business and/or professional purposes?

13. If your library used the public library rather than an alternative service, why did it do this?

15. If you could not use the local public library, how much additional time do you think you and your library staff would need to spend searching for and obtaining documents and using alternative sources to retain your current service levels?

16. How much would your organization’s research be affected if you did not have access to public library services?

17. Approximately, what additional costs might your organization incur per year if you were unable to use the public library’s services and therefore were reliant on alternatives?

18. Your local public library is funded primarily through state and local taxes. In the unlikely event that this funding ceased to be provided, would your organization be willing to pay an amount, for example through donation or subscription, to help support the continuation of your local public library and its services?

19. Which one of the following reasons BEST supports your answer to question 18?

20. What would be the most your organization would be willing to pay per month as a donation or subscription to support the continuation of your public library and its services?

Appendix III - Glossary of REMI model terms

General Sales Tax and Selective Sales Tax - General Sales Tax includes taxes applicable with only specified exceptions (e.g., food and prescribed medicines) to sales of all types of goods and services or to all gross receipts, whether at a single rate or at classified rates, and sales use taxes. Taxes imposed distinctively on sales of or gross receipts from selected commodities, services or businesses are reported as Selective Sales Tax.

Intergovernmental Revenue - Amounts received from local governments for use in performing specific functions, for general financial assistance or as share of tax proceeds.

For state governments, Intergovernmental Revenue includes local government shares of state-administered programs requiring local financial participation; reimbursements from local governments for services provided to them by the state, such as auditing local accounts; monies from localities to pay debt service on state debt issued for the benefit of local governments; and repayments of contingent loans and advances previously extended to local governments.

For local governments, Intergovernmental Revenue includes financial support from other local governments for activities administered by the recipient locality, including its dependent agencies; state aid channeled through other local governments that have some discretion as to its distribution; reimbursements for services provided to other local governments (other than for utility services); and payments-in-lieu-of-taxes on other local governments' property.

For state governments, Intergovernmental Revenue excludes monies received from local governments and held in an agency capacity on their behalf (e.g., to repay interest and principal on local debt); receipt of state-imposed taxes or other state revenues collected by local governments acting as agents for the state; taxes on local government facilities (report last two exclusions at the appropriate tax code); proceeds from the sale, liquidation or earnings of local government securities held by the state (non-revenues except for earnings); proceeds from sale of buildings, property or commodities (report at the appropriate Miscellaneous General Revenue code); charges for utility services to local governments (report at the appropriate Utility Revenue code); and contributions from local governments for employee retirement or other insurance trust systems (report at the appropriate Insurance Trust code).

For local governments, Intergovernmental Revenue excludes state grants or shared taxes to be transmitted through government with no discretion as to their distribution (report at Intergovernmental Revenue from the state government for the final recipient local government); receipt of taxes or other charges collected by another local government acting as the receiving government's agent (report at the appropriate Tax code); proceeds from the sale, liquidation or earnings of local government securities held by other localities (non-revenues except for earnings); taxes on facilities of other local governments; proceeds from the sale of buildings, property or commodities (report at the appropriate Miscellaneous General Revenue code); charges for utility services to other local governments (report at the appropriate Utility Revenue code); and payments-in-lieu-of-taxes from private organizations like private colleges.

Output - Output is the amount of production, including all intermediate goods purchased as well as value-added (compensation and profit). It can also be thought of as sales or supply. The components of Output are Self Supply and Exports (Multi-regions, Rest of Nation, and Rest of World). Output is affected by changes in industry Demand in all regions in the nation, the home region's share of each market and international exports from the region.

Value-Added – Value-Added is a measure of the contribution of each private industry and of government to a region's Gross Regional Product. It is defined as an industry's gross output (which consists of sales or receipts and other operating income, commodity taxes and inventory change) minus its intermediate inputs (which consist of energy, raw materials, semi-finished goods and services that are purchased from domestic industries or from foreign sources). Value-Added by industry can also be measured as the sum of compensation of employees, taxes on production and imports less subsidies and gross operating surplus.

Gross Regional Product - Gross Regional Product as a Value-Added concept is analogous to the national concept of Gross Domestic Product. It is equal to output excluding the intermediate inputs, and represents compensation and profits. Gross Regional Product as a Final Demand concept is equal to Consumption + Investment + Government + (Exports - Imports).

Appendix IV - Survey Methodology

Telephone Survey
The Haas Center staff utilized Oppenheim Research, a telephone survey firm located in Tallahassee, Florida, to conduct the statewide telephone survey. Oppenheim Research obtained the home telephone numbers used in the survey from Survey Sampling International (SSI). Generating a truly random sample of telephone numbers for individuals in a particular geographic region is becoming more and more challenging. According to SSI, “In 2007, roughly 16% of all households had only wireless or cell phone service and only 82% of households could be reached on a landline telephone. Approximately 30% of the landline telephone households in the U.S. have unlisted numbers. Each year, about 20% of American households move, so that 12-15% of the residential numbers in a typical directory are disconnected over the life cycle of the directory. Samples drawn entirely from directories, and “plus-one” techniques based on directory seed numbers, often significantly under-represent unlisted households.”³

In order to overcome these difficulties, SSI developed random digit (RDD) methods. This method yields more active numbers and faster survey completion. In addition to the RDD method, phone numbers were distributed across all counties included in the sample (in this case, the State of Florida) in proportion to their density of listed telephone numbers. “All blocks within a county are organized in ascending order by area code, exchange, and block number. Once the quota has been allocated to all counties in the frame, a sampling interval is calculated by summing the number of listed residential numbers in eligible blocks within the county and dividing that sum by the number of sampling points assigned to the county. From a random start between zero and the sampling interval, blocks are systematically selected in proportion to their density of listed households. Once a block has been selected, a two-digit number is systematically selected in the range 00-99 and is appended to the exchange and block to form a 10-digit telephone number.”⁴ This methodology provides a very efficient random digit sample. Each county will have a probability of selection equal to its share of listed telephone households in the county. Business numbers were not included. Additionally, mobile phone numbers were not included.

Initially, Oppenheim Research ordered 15,000 telephone numbers. Of those 15,000 they used 9,595 to obtain the 905 survey completions and a response rate of 9.4%. Several screening criteria were utilized at the beginning of the survey. After introducing the survey, respondents were asked if they were over 18 years of age or if there was someone in the household who was over 18. If they or someone in the household was over 18, they were then asked if they had visited a public library in person or online in the last 12 months. If the answer to that was no, they did not continue with the survey. The survey was conducted over a 6-week period beginning November 11, 2009 and ending December 18, 2009.

Online Survey
Several surveys were conducted online using Survey Monkey, an Internet-based software program. These consisted of the online version of the library use survey, the survey of organizational library users and the library census.

The printed in-library survey instrument used in the 2004 study was modified to permit respondents to answer the same questions as asked in the telephone version of the library users’ survey. A version of the survey in Spanish was provided. Links to the survey instruments were provided to the State Library and Archives and all public library directors for inclusion on the home page of their respective websites. Where inclusion on the home page was not feasible, library directors were encouraged to post signs containing the link and encouraging library patrons to participate in the survey. A link to the survey was also posted on the Haas Center home page. The library user online survey ran from November 13, 2009 until January 4, 2010 and a total of 2,094 completed or partially completed surveys were received.

The survey of organizational library users consisted of a series of questions designed to elicit usage patterns and the economic value placed on public libraries by businesses, public and private schools and university libraries. Links to the online survey were e-mailed to a listing of special libraries, school superintendents, public school librarians and media specialists and private school principals. The survey was conducted from November 13, 2009 until January 4, 2010. A total of 167 completed or partially completed surveys were received.

The library census consisted of questions designed to elicit additional data not regularly reported to the State Library and Archives. Links to the survey were e-mailed to the public library directors. A total of 19 surveys were completed.

Survey Analysis
One general data analysis issue with many surveys is how to deal with “outliers,” which are individual responses that tend to inflate estimated averages and totals because they are particularly large. In order to err on the conservative side we chose to exclude such outliers when a single outlier expanded estimates by 50 percent or more. The other typical survey issue involves item non-responses, which are instances in which a questionnaire is completed but one or more questions (i.e., items) are not answered. In these cases, averages were calculated omitting the non-responses.

In order to take advantage of visit-related responses from both the household telephone and online surveys, we usually combined estimates from the two surveys by weighting estimates by respective number of responses. For example, the estimated average time to use alternatives was 94.5 minutes for the online survey and 73.5 minutes for the telephone survey. Using the weights calculated for that question, we arrive at a combine average of 84 minutes (i.e., 94.5 × 0.58 + $73.5 × 0.42).

Some survey questions required respondents to check a range of values. For example, we asked for annual household income in ranges of under $30,000, between $30,000 and $50,000, between $50,000 and $75,000, between $75,000 and $100,000 and more than $100,000. In some instances we needed to estimate an average salary from these responses. If the proportion of responses for the ranges is about equal one could use the mid-points and multiply each range mid-point by the proportion of responses to that range and sum the products across the ranges. However, these values are often skewed in a log-normal manner, in which case a geometric average is used in lieu of a mid-point. This average is the square root of the product of the range points; for example, the square root of $25,000 times $50,000 or $35,355. The outside values for the end ranges are approximated from examining the log-normal plots.

To establish an hourly rate, for example to apply to the number of hours spent for work-related purposes in the library, we added a 25 percent fringe benefit rate to personal annual income and divided by 2,080 annual hours. Both of these values yield conservative estimates.

Adult users in the online survey were asked questions about taxes that are designated for public libraries and, on both library user surveys, adults were asked how much they would be willing to accept and pay for their library card. In fact, adult residents average paying about $42 per adult in local taxes and $47 per adult when state and federal tax contributions are included. When asked: “If someone would buy your public library card each year, how much would you ask for it?”. Fifty-six percent of combined survey respondents said they would not give it up. Nearly 45 percent of telephone respondents said they would accept less than they pay in taxes, but the rest indicated that they would only accept more than what they pay in taxes. They were also asked: “If you paid a price for your library card each year instead of paying taxes, how much would you be willing to pay for it?”. The average amount they said they were willing to pay was, in fact, less than the amount they pay and could demonstrate the impact of the economic downturn on individuals’ feelings of wealth. But adult users still demonstrate that they are willing to pay many times that amount over a year considering their time and other costs spent using their public library.

Online respondents tended to skip questions, particularly those requesting demographic information. Where appropriate, telephone survey demographic responses were used instead.

Appendix V - Online Library Users Survey Instrument – English

Appendix VI - Online Survey Instrument – Spanish Version

Appendix VII - Telephone Survey Instrument

UWF Public Libraries Study

Hello, my name is ________ and I'm calling on behalf of the Haas Center at the University of West Florida. We have been asked by the Florida State Library to conduct a very important survey about the use of public libraries in Florida. Your household has been randomly selected to participate in this survey. Have I reached _________? (VERIFY NUMBER YOU DIALED)

Are you 18 years of age or older? IF NO: May I speak to someone who is 18 years or older?
IF OVER 18 AND FEMALE: Are you under 65 years of age? IF YES, CONTINUE.
IF OVER 65 AND FEMALE, TERMINATE CALL.

Have you visited a Florida Public Library in person in the last 12 months?
IF NO: Have you used the Internet to use any public library services in the last 12 months?
IF YES TO EITHER, CONTINUE
IF NO TO EITHER, ASK: Has anyone else living in your household visited or used the Internet to use a Florida public library service in the last 12 months?
IF YES, CONTINUE WITH LIBRARY USER OVER 18 IF NO TO BOTH, TERMINATE CALL

Are you currently employed as a librarian?
IF YES, TERMINATE CALL IF NO, CONTINUE WITH LIBRARY USER OVER 18

Thank you for your time and interest in public libraries! The survey should take only a few minutes to complete and all your responses are completely confidential. However, my supervisor may be monitoring this call to evaluate my performance.

Q.1 To verify, have you visited a Florida public library in the past 12 months?

(5)
Yes ...............1
No .................2
DK/NA ..........3

[IF THE ANSWER TO QUESTION 1 IS NO OR D/K, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 3]

Q.2 About how many times have you visited a Florida public library in the past 12 months? _________________________________________________ (6-25)

Q.3 Do you have a public library card?

(26)
Yes ................1
No .................2
DK/NA ..........3

Q.4 If you were to sell a public library card each year, how much would you ask for it? (READ CHOICES)

(27)
$1 - $10 ....................................................................................................1
$11 - $20 .................................................................................................2
$21 - $30 .................................................................................................3
$31 - $50 .................................................................................................4
$51 - $100 ...............................................................................................5
Over $100 ................................................................................................6
I would not give it up ..............................................................................7
DK/NA ......................................................................................................8
Nothing/Zero (VOLUNTEERED RESPONSE/DO NOT READ) .....9

Q.5 If you paid a price for your public library card each year instead of paying taxes, how much would you be willing to pay for it? (READ CHOICES)

(28)
$1 - $10 ....................................................................................................1
$11 - $20 .................................................................................................2
$21 - $30 .................................................................................................3
$31 - $50 .................................................................................................4
$51 - $100 ...............................................................................................5
Over $100 ................................................................................................6
DK/NA ......................................................................................................7
Nothing/Zero (VOLUNTEERED RESPONSE/DO NOT READ) .....8

[IF THE ANSWER TO QUESTION 1 IS NO OR D/K, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 48]

Q.6 Approximately how much time does it take you to get to the library you visited most in the last 12 months? Please use minutes.
1 HOUR = 60 MINUTES __________________________________________ (29-48)

Q.7 How do you usually get there? (READ CHOICES IF NEEDED)

(49)
Walk / Camina ...............................................................1
Drive / Maneja ................................................................2
Public Transportation / Usa transporte publicio .....3
Taxi ..................................................................................4
Other (specify) ...............................................................5

[IF THE ANSWER TO QUESTION 7 IS NOT OTHER, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 9]

Q.8 What other way do you usually get to the library? ____________________ (50-74)

[IF THE ANSWER TO QUESTION 7 IS WALK OR PUBLIC TRASPORTATION, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 10]

Q.9 About how much does it cost you to get to the library, including gasoline and parking? ______________________________________________ (75-94)

Q.10 Approximately how much time did you spend in the library on your last visit? Please use minutes.
1 HOUR = 60 MINUTES ________________________________ (95-114)

Q.11 Did you do any other activities as part of your last trip to the library?

(115)
Yes ................1
No .................2
DK/NA ..........3

[IF THE ANSWER IS NO OR DK, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 15]

Q.12 What activities did you do as part of that last trip to the library? (READ LIST)

[IF THE ANSWER TO SUB-QUESTION 4 OF QUESTION 12 IS NO, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 14]

Q.13 What other activity did you do as part of that last trip to the library?
_______________________________________________ (120-219)

Q.14 About how much did you spend on other activities during your last trip to the library? Please provide your best estimate.
(DO NOT USE DOLLAR SIGNS) _____________________________ (220-239)

Q.15 I am going to read you a list of library services. Please tell me which services you used during the last 12 months. Have you:
(READ LIST) [READ ANSWERS IN RANDOM ORDER, EXCEPT THE LAST 1]

[IF THE ANSWER TO SUB-QUESTION OTHER IS 2, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 17]

Q.16 What other library service(s) did you use in the last 12 months?
_______________________________________________ (253-352)

Q.17 Which of those services did you use on your last visit? Did you:
(READ PREVIOUS ANSWERS)

[READ ONLY ANSWERS CORRESPONDING TO SUB-QUESTIONS ANSWERED 1 IN QUESTION 15]
[READ ANSWERS IN RANDOM ORDER, EXCEPT THE LAST 1]

Q.18 How much time did you spend on the Internet during your last visit to the library? Please use minutes.
1 HOUR = 60 MINUTES _____________________________ (366-385)

Q.19 Patrons use their public library for many reasons. I am going to read you a list of typical reasons. Please tell me ALL the reasons why you used the library on your LAST visit. Did you visit:

[IF THE ANSWER TO SUB-QUESTION 12 OF QUESTION 19 IS 2, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 21]

Q.20 For what other personal or family need did you visit the library for on your last visit? ______________________________________ (408-507)

[IF THE ANSWER TO SUB-QUESTION 22 OF QUESTION 19 IS 2, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 22]

Q.21 For what other work or job-related need did you visit the library on your last visit? __________________________________________ (508-607)

Q.22 Did you take a child to use the library on your last visit?

(608)
Yes ................1
No .................2
DK/NA ..........3

[IF THE ANSWER TO QUESTION 22 IS NO OR D/K, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 25]

Q.23 Did you bring a child on your last visit to the library:

[IF THE ANSWER TO SUB-QUESTION 3 OF QUESTION 23 IS NO, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 25]

Q.24 For what other reason did you bring a child to the library on your last visit?
_______________________________________________ (612-711)

Q.25 Did you visit the library on your last visit to meet an educational need?

(712)
Yes .................1
No ..................2
DK/NA ...........3

[IF THE ANSWER IS NO or DK, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 33]

Q.26 Please tell me all the reasons why you visited the library on your last visit to meet educational needs. Did you visit: (READ LIST)

[IF THE ANSWER TO SUB-QUESTION 1 OF QUESTION 26 IS NO, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 29]

Q.27 As a student did you use the library on your last visit: (READ LIST)

[IF THE ANSWER TO SUB-QUESTION 5 OF QUESTION 27 IS 2, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 29]

Q.28 For what other student-related educational need did you visit the library on your last visit?
_______________________________________________ (724-823)

[IF THE ANSWER TO SUB-QUESTION 2 OF QUESTION 26 IS 2, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 31]

Q.29 As a teacher did you use the library on your last visit: (READ LIST)

[IF THE ANSWER TO SUB-QUESTION 7 OF QUESTION 29 IS 2, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 31]

Q.30 For what other teacher-related educational need did you visit the library on your last visit? __________________________________________ (831-930)

[IF THE ANSWER TO SUB-QUESTION 6 OF QUESTION 26 IS 2, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 33]

Q.31 For your other educational needs did you use the library on your last visit: (READ LIST)

[IF THE ANSWER TO SUB-QUESTION 4 OF QUESTION 31 IS 2, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 33]

Q.32 For what other educational need did you visit the library on your last visit?
______________________________________________ (935-1034)

Q.33 With 1 being not at all important, and 5 being absolutely essential, how important was the information provided by the library service in meeting your needs on your last visit?
(1035)
Not at all important/ Nada en absoluto importante ........................................................................... 1
Somewhat important/ Algo importante .................................................................................................2
Neither important nor unimportant (VOLUNTEERED RESPONSE/DO NOT READ) ..................3
Important/ Importante ..............................................................................................................................4
Absolutely essential/ Absolutamente esencial ..................................................................................5
DK/NA .........................................................................................................................................................6

Q.34 In what ways were the information or services important in meeting your needs on your last visit? Did it:

[IF THE ANSWER TO SUB-QUESTION 1 OF QUESTION 34 IS 2, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 36]

Q.35 How much time did you save? Please give me your best estimate in minutes.
1 HOUR = 60 MINUTES ____________________________________ (1039-1058)

[IF THE ANSWER TO SUB-QUESTION 2 OF QUESTION 34 IS 2, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 37]

Q.36 How much money did you save? Please give me your best estimate.
(DO NOT USE DOLLAR SIGNS)_____________________________ (1059-1078)

[IF THE ANSWER TO SUB-QUESTION 3 OF QUESTION 34 IS 2, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 38]

Q.37 In what other way was the information from your last library visit helpful?
_____________________________________________ (1079-1178)

Q.38 If there were no public library, what would you do to address your reason(s) for your last visit? Would you:
(READ CHOICES)
(1179)
Not bother to do anything/ No molestia para hacer nada ..........................................................................................................................................................................1
Need the information, but not know where else to go/ necesita la información, pero no sabe a donde ir .....................................................................................2
Use another source, such as a store, another person, an academic library, etc./ Uso una otra fuente como una tienda, otra persona, una biblioteca .....3

[IF THE ANSWER TO QUESTION 38 IS NOT 3, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 46]

Q.39 What other source would you use? __________________________ (1180-1229)

Q.40 About how much time do you think it would take to use this other source? Please use minutes. 1 HOUR = 60 MINUTES_________________ (1230-1249)

Q.41 About how much money do you think it would cost to use this other source?
DO NOT USE DOLLAR SIGNS_________________________ (1250-1269)

Q.42 How many miles would it take to drive to use this other source?
_____________________________________________ (1270-1289)

Q.43 How much would it cost you to buy or rent this other source?
_____________________________________________ (1290-1309)

Q.44 Can you think of any other expenses that would be required to use this other source?

(1310)
Yes ................1
No .................2
DK/NA ..........3

[IF THE ANSWER TO QUESTION 44 IS NOT 1, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 46]

Q.45 What would this other source be? ____________________________ (1311-1345)

Q.46 Can you think of any visit to the public library in the past 12 months that was particularly helpful to you, your family, or your workplace?

(1346)
Yes ................1
No .................2
DK/NA ..........3

[IF THE ANSWER TO QUESTION 46 IS NOT 1, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 48]

Q.47 Please describe how the library was helpful:
_____________________________________________ (1347-1646)

Q.48 Public libraries in Florida provide library cardholders with remote access from home, office and other sites to various databases and services via the Internet. Are you aware of this service?

(1647)
Yes 1
No 2
DK/NA 3

[IF THE ANSWER IS NOT 1, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 55]

Q.49 Have you ever connected to a Florida public library via the internet?

(1648)
Yes ..........1
No ...........2
DK ...........3

[IF THE ANSWER IS NOT 1, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 51]

Q.50 About how many times have you connected in the past 12 months?
_____________________________________________ (1649-1651)

Q.51 Have you ever used public library services via the Internet that required a library card barcode number?

(1652)
Yes ................1
No .................2
DK/NA ..........3

[IF THE ANSWER IS 2 OR 3, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 53]

[IF THE ANSWER TO QUESTION 51 IS NOT 1, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 53]

Q.52 About how many times have you used these services in the past 12 months?
_____________________________________________ (1653-1655)

Q.53 Can you think of any use of the public library via the Internet in the past 12 months that was particularly helpful to you, your family, or your workplace?

(1656)
Yes ................1
No .................2
DK/NA ..........3

[IF THE ANSWER TO QUESTION 53 IS NOT 1, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 55]

Q.54 Please describe how the library was helpful:

_____________________________________________ (1657-1956)

Q.55 If you were moving into a new community, which of these would you most want to have on your own street? (READ ALL BUT SELECT ONLY ONE)

(1957)
Park/ Un parque .......................................................................1
Public Library/ Biblioteca publica .........................................2
Elementary School/ Escuela de ensenanza primaria .....3
Police Station/ Una estacion de la policia .........................4
Job Center/ Estacione trabajo de comisaria ....................5
DK/NA .......................................................................................6

Q.56 Do you think that having a public library located very close to your own home would increase or decrease property values, or would it make no difference?

(1958)
Increase/ Augmente .............................1
Decrease/ Marca de disminucion .....2
Make no difference/ No diferencia .....3
DK/NA ......................................................4

Q.57 Do you agree or disagree with the following ideas:
(READ LIST)
1= AGREE
2= DISAGREE
3= DK/NA (VOLUNTEERED/DO NOT READ)

Q.58 Are you more likely to think of your local public library as an essential service like a school, or more of a cultural amenity like an art gallery?

(1962)
Essential service/ El servicio basico ...........1
Cultural amenity/ Un amenidad cultural .....2
DK/NA ................................................................3

Q.59 In which Florida county do you live?

(1963-1964)
Alachua ..............................................1
Baker ..................................................2
Bay ......................................................3
Bradford .............................................4
Brevard ...............................................5
Broward ..............................................6
Calhoun ..............................................7
Charlotte .............................................8
Citrus ..................................................9
Clay ...................................................10
Collier ...............................................11
Columbia .........................................12
DeSoto .............................................13
Dixie ..................................................14
Duval .................................................15
Escambia .........................................16
Flagler ...............................................17
Franklin .............................................18
Gadsden ...........................................19
Gilchrist .............................................20
Glades ...............................................21
Gulf .....................................................22
Hamilton ............................................23
Hardee ...............................................24
Hendry ...............................................25
Hernando ..........................................26
Highlands .........................................27
Hillsborough ....................................28
Holmes .............................................29
Indian River ......................................30
Jackson .............................................31
Jefferson ...........................................32
Lafayette ............................................33
Lake ...................................................34
Lee .....................................................35
Leon ...................................................36
Levy .....................................................37
Liberty .................................................38
Madison .............................................39
Manatee .............................................40
Marion ................................................41
Martin .................................................42
Miami-Dade ......................................43
Monroe ...............................................44
Nassau ..............................................45
Okaloosa ...........................................46
Okeechobee .....................................47
Orange ...............................................48
Osceola .............................................49
Palm Beach ......................................50
Pasco .................................................51
Pinellas ..............................................52
Polk .....................................................53
Putnam ...............................................54
Saint Johns ........................................55
Saint Lucie .........................................56
Santa Rosa ........................................57
Sarasota .............................................58
Seminole ............................................59
Sumter ................................................60
Suwannee ..........................................61
Taylor ...................................................62
Union ...................................................63
Volusia ................................................64
Wakulla ...............................................65
Walton .................................................66
Washington .......................................67
OTHER (UNLISTED COUNTY) ......68
DK/NA .................................................69

[IF THE ANSWER TO QUESTION 59 IS NOT 68, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 61]

Q.60 UNLISTED COUNTY: (VERIFY SPELLING)_________________ (1965-1994)

Q.61 In which Florida city do you live?
(PLEASE VERIFY SPELLING IF UNSURE AND BEGIN NAME WITH CAPITAL LETTER)_________________________________ (1995-2024)

Q.62 What is your age now?

(2025)
18-29 ............1
30-44 ...........2
45-54 ...........3
55-65 ...........4
Over 65 .......5
Refused .....6

Q.63 What is the highest grade or level of school that you have completed?
(READ CHOICES)

(2026)
Some High School, but Did Not Graduate/ Algunos educan alto, pero no se graduaron .....1
High School Graduate or GED/ a bachiller ni GED .......................................................................2
Technical School/ la escuela técnica ..............................................................................................3
Some College or 2 Year Degree/ algún colegio ni 2 grado ........................................................4
4 Year College Degree/ 4 ano colegio ............................................................................................5
Post College Degree/ Poste colegial de grado .............................................................................6
DK/NA .....................................................................................................................................................7

Q.64 Which of the following best describes your race:
(READ CHOICES)

(2027)
White ............................................................1
Hispanic ......................................................2
Black or African-American ........................3
Asian or Pacific Islander ..........................4
Other (VOLUNTEERED & SPECIFY) .....5
DK/NA ..........................................................6

[IF THE ANSWER TO QUESTION 64 IS NOT 5, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 66]

Q.65 What other way would you classify your race?___________________ (2028-2047)

Q.66 Which of the following BEST describes your current employment status?
(READ CHOICES)'

(2048)
Employed by others/ empleado por otros .............................................................1
Self-employed/ trabajadores autónomos .............................................................2
In the military/ en el militar .......................................................................................3
Unemployed and looking for work/ parado y buscando el trabajo ..................4
Unemployed and not looking for work/ parado y no buscando el trabajo ......5
Retired/Disabled/: jubilado/incapacitado .............................................................6
Homemaker/ ama de casa .....................................................................................7
N/A ................................................................................................................................8

[IF THE ANSWER TO QUESTION 66 IS 3 OR 4 OR 5 OR 6 OR 7, THEN SKIP TO QUESTION 68]

Q.67 Which of the following BEST describes your employer or place of business?
(READ CHOICES)

(2049)
A small business (under 50 employees)/ Una pequena empresa ................................1
A large business (50 employees or more/ Un negocio grande ......................................2
A government agency/ Una agencia del gobierno .............................................................3
An elementary or middle school/ Un elemental o mediano escuela .............................4
A high school/ Secundaria ......................................................................................................5
A college or university/ Una universidad ..............................................................................6
A hospital or healthcare provider/ Un proveedor del hospital o la asistencia medica.7
N/A ...............................................................................................................................................8

Q.68 Approximately what was your total annual household income in 2008 before taxes?

(2050)
Under $30,000 .....................................1
Between $30,000 and $50,000 ........2
Between $50,000 and $75,000 ........3
Between $75,000 and $150,000 .....4
More than $150,000 ...........................5
DK/NA ...................................................6

Q.69 We need to establish the value of a user’s time. Please indicate your personal approximate annual income in 2008 before taxes.
(IF NECESSARY: INDICATE THAT THIS IS FOR WORK-RELATED USES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY)

(2051)
Not employed ......................................1
Under $25,000 ....................................2
Between $25,000 and $50,000 .......3
Between $50,000 and $100,000 .....4
More than $100,000 ...........................5
DK/NA ...................................................6

Q.70 Have we reached you on your cell phone or on a land line?

(2052)
Cell Phone .....1
Land Line .......2
DK/NA .............3

Q.71 DO NOT ASK:
RECORD GENDER:

(2053)
Male ...........1
Female .....2
DK/NA .......3

Q.72 That completes our survey! Thank you for your time and participation!

Appendix VIII - Organizations Survey Instrument

Appendix IX - Library Census

Appendix X – Glossary of Terms

The below terms are those defined in Taxpayer Return on Investment in Florida Public Libraries: Summary Report, September, 2004. The present study is an update of this prior study and thus is using the same definitions for the terms.

Benefits: The positive outcome or gain from public library use or from the library’s existence/availability in a community. The “benefits” used in the REMI model and analysis are discounted benefits.

Benefits to the State of Florida: The amount leveraged by the investment in public libraries from public (federal, state and local) funding sources. It is the measure of the gain from these funds.

Benefit/Cost Ratio (B/C): The relationship between the benefits derived from the use or existence of the public library and the cost to taxpayers to make the libraries available.
Specific B/C ratios identified in the report are:

B/C (Availability): The relationship between the benefits derived from the availability of the library and the cost of the libraries to taxpayers.
B/C (Use): The relationship between the benefits derived from use of the library and the cost of the libraries to taxpayers.
B/CREMI(Wages): The relationship between the benefits in terms of wages resulting from the existence of the public library and the cost of the libraries to taxpayers.
B/CREMI (GRP): The relationship between the benefits in terms of GRP resulting from the existence of the public libraries and the cost of the libraries to taxpayers.

Community benefits: These are benefits to the community in which the public library is located and can include library expenditures, library user expenditures, jobs, income, etc.

Community economic benefits: These are benefits that flow from the public library such as library spending with vendors, contractors, etc. in the state; revenues generated by vendors and contractors in the library (e.g., copying, coffee shop, gift shop) and spending that occurs as a result of library use (e.g., restaurants, stores, coffee shops).

Compensation: The salaries/wages and benefits (vacation, sick leave, medical insurance, etc.) for employees in public libraries and other sectors.

Costs: The value or level of resources invested and used to provide a service or produce a product. As used in public library benefit and cost ratios, the cost is either the investment or cost to taxpayers, or the discounted costs used in the REMI model and analysis.

Cost to use alternatives: The estimated costs to use alternatives to the public libraries should they cease to exist, and should users decide to pursue alternatives (measured in terms of time and other expenditures).

Contingent valuation: An economic method of evaluation of (public library) services (and non-priced goods) that looks at the implications of not having the services.

Direct benefits: Positive outcomes resulting from public library use; may include those that can be expressed in economic terms (e.g., time saved) or in other ways (e.g., broadened my knowledge).

Direct economic benefits: Positive outcomes resulting from library use that can be expressed in economic terms (e.g., time and money saved)

Direct effects: The result from the expenditures on/investments in public libraries on goods and services aggregated over the state of Florida. It focuses on receiving industry sectors, businesses and other organizations.

Direct in-state expenditures: Expenditures by the public libraries on goods and services from in-state providers. These may include books, periodicals, electronic equipment, supplies, etc., as well as capital projects (construction, renovation, etc.).

Discounting: The process of estimating the real value of the future amount of money in today’s equivalent worth. For example, the value of a public library’s current monetary benefits and investment or costs will likely be different at any future period of time.

Economic return: The results of public library use that can be expressed in economic terms.

Gross Regional Product (GRP) or Gross County Product (GCP): An indicator of the economic well-being of an area measured in terms of the total economic output or the value of all goods and services produced.

Halo spending: Public library users often combine trips to the public library with other activities such as shopping, eating at restaurants, etc. The spending by users in these activities is referred to as “halo” spending. If there were no public libraries these other activities and corresponding spending would decline to some degree.

Indirect effects: The value of inputs used by businesses and other organizations that are called upon to produce additional goods and services for those organizations first impacted directly by library spending.

Induced effects: The result from the direct and indirect effects of library spending. Induced effects are related to persons, businesses or other organizations that receive added income as a result of community and statewide spending by employees of the firms that are imputed by the direct and indirect effect of library spending.

Investment:
Revenue investment: The revenues received by the public libraries including federal, state and local funds; fees and fines; cash gifts and donations; and funding for multi-type library cooperatives.
User investment: The investment by users in their time, travel, purchases, etc., necessary to use public libraries or specific services.

Lost community benefits: Community economic benefits that would be lost if the public libraries did not exist.

Lost use benefits: Benefits derived from use that would be lost if the public libraries did not exist.

Net benefit: The added cost to use alternatives to the public library

Net present value (NPV): Discounted benefits minus discounted costs.

Opportunity costs: The resources diverted from other uses to make a program or service possible. One measure of opportunity cost is the initial public library investment assumed to be redistributed to alternative government spending activities.

Pass through spending: Some public libraries have business-like operations in their facilities such as coffee shops, gift shops, etc. Revenue produced by these operations that is passed on to non-library owners, vendors or charities is referred to as pass through spending.

Present value: Present value uses discounting to determine the spot cash equivalent of a future value where the future value is known and the present value is not.

Public library investment: The amount of public investment made from taxes and capital outlay.

Return: What is gained or lost as a result of the existence or use of the public library. A positive return is a benefit; a negative one is a detriment.

Return on investment (ROI), also Return on public library investment: The relationship between the total economic benefit and the total investment in public libraries

REMI: Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI) is an integrated input-output and econometric model that was specifically used for the State of Florida. It traces linkages among industry purchases and sales and forecasts future changes in business costs, prices, wages, taxes, etc.

Revenue investment: (see Investment).

Total lost compensation: The salaries and benefits currently received by public library staff that would be lost to those individuals (at least in the short term) if there were no public libraries.

Use benefits: (see Benefits).

User Investment: (see Investment).

Appendix XI – Communicating Study Results

Research studies achieve their highest value when their findings are appropriately and effectively conveyed to all stakeholders. The present study uses quantitative techniques to establish a value for public library services in the state of Florida. This question is one of interest for two primary reasons: 1) the growing concerns of the public in how their tax money is invested on their behalf by the government; and 2) the present economic crisis shrinking of state and local government coffers. Thus, conveying the message that Florida’s public libraries generate substantial returns on the public dollars invested becomes crucially important as it will allow both public and governments alike to make informed and knowledgeable decisions on fiscal spending issues.

There are many methods that may be used to spread the word about the benefits of Florida public libraries. The table below outlines these methods as well as their function and target audience.

Non-Profit Communication Vehicles

Some of these methods would work better for ROI study results than others, and use of many of them would depend on whether funding is available for communicating results.

In general, study results should be incorporated into regular communications to funders and potential donors. Recommendations specifically for public libraries taken from Public Libraries and the Internet 2006: Study Results and Findings include:

1. Establish a relationship with key local funding agencies. “You have made a mistake if the only time that you have seen local funding decision makers all year is when you come to the annual budget hearing with your hand out.”

2. Show up at county and city council meetings.

3. Be viewed as a contributing unit of city and county government (even if the library is separately funded).

4. Be proactive; do not wait for opportunity to knock, seek it out.

5. Find out what other local government agencies’ problem areas are and make the library part of their solution.

6. Join local business organizations and involve the library in their work.

7. Seek out opportunities to present the library, its services and its accomplishments to local community groups.

Results from this study are being posted on a website developed specifically for the purpose of communicating the results to a wide audience. This site can be referenced on public library websites and its URL included in printed materials. It is also recommended that libraries use as many of the free methods of communicating these results as possible in order to cover the broadest spectrum of Florida residents.

Additional material for library advocacy is available at http://trainingdesk.elsevier.com/library-advocacy-toolkit (link will open in new window).

Appendix XII - Bibliography

The following links will open in a new window. Some are in PDF format You may download Adobe Reader here.

• Americans for Libraries Council. 2007. Worth their weight: An assessment of the evolving field of library valuation. http://www.bibliotheksportal.de/fileadmin/0themen/Management/dokumente/WorthTheirWeight.pdf
• Berryman, Jennifer, Sustaining Communities Phase One: A review of research approaches measuring the value of public libraries, State Library of NSW, October 2005. http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/services/public_libraries/docs/sustainingcommunities.pdf
• Bertot, John Carlo, Charles R. McClure, Paul T. Jaeger, and Joe Ryan, Public Libraries and the Internet 2006: Study Results and Findings, Information Use Management and Policy Institute, Florida State University, September 2006. http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oitp/PDFs/2006_plinternet.pdf
• Coyle, Karen, Technology and the Return on Investment, Journal of Academic Librarianship 32, no.5 (August, 2006). http://www.kcoyle.net/jal-32-5.html
• Davis, Denise. The Condition of U.S. Libraries: Public Library Trends, 2002-2009. American Library Association, 2009.
  www.ala.org/ala/research/librarystats/public/Condition_of_Libraries_1999.20.pdf
• Elliott, Donald S. [et al.]. 2007. Measuring your library's value: How to do a cost-benefit analysis for your public library. Chicago: American Library Association.
• Holt, Glen E. , Donald Elliott and Amonia Moore, Placing a Value on Public Library Services, St. Louis Public Library. http://www.slpl.lib.mo.us/libsrc/restoc.htm
• Lown, Cory and Hilary Davis, Are You Worth It? What Return on Investment Can and Can’t Tell You About Your Library, April 1, 2009. http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2009/are-you-worth-it-what-return-on-investment/
• Potomac Incorporated, Maryland Public Library Survey: Customer Survey of Maryland Residents About Libraries, Final Report, August 4, 2006.
• PricewaterhouseCoopers, Social and Economic Value of Public Libraries, Museums, Arts and Sport in Northern Ireland Phase I: Designing a Model, Research Report No 1, 2008. http://www.dcalni.gov.uk/valcal_-_final_report_dec_2007-2.pdf
• Proctor, Richard, Bob Usherwood, and Gill Sobczyk. What Happens When a Public Library Service Closes Down? Library Management 18, no. 1 (1997): 59-64.
• Sharpe, Krista Bowers and Jeanne Koekkoek Stierman, Libraries and Community Economic Development: a Survey of Best Practices, Western Illinois University Libraries. http://www.alliancelibrarysystem.com/Rural/documents/bestpractices.pdf
• Urban Libraries Council. 2007. Making cities stronger: Public library contributions to local economic development. Evanston, IL: Urban Libraries Council. http://www.urban.org/uploadedpdf/1001075_stronger_cities.pdf
• Use of Public Libraries in Hard Economic Times, http://www.library.ns.ca/content/use-public-libraries-hard-economic-times accessed March 11, 2010.
• White, Larry Nash, Unseen measures: the need to account for intangibles, The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances, Year 2007, Volume 20, Issue 2, Page 77-84.
  

¹ Taxpayer Return-on-Investment (ROI) in Florida Public Libraries: Detailed Report. September, 2004.
² This figure does not include approximately $6.5 million used to support multi-type library cooperatives. While FY2009 total revenues and visits are included in Figure 2, detailed data was not available for in time for analysis.
³ SSI, RDD Landline Sample Methodology, http://www.surveysampling.com/sites/all/files/imce/RDDLandline.pdf
⁴ Ibid