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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
Prior 2004 study findings based on redistrbuted government spending |
Scenario 1 Redistributed library spending within the government |
Scenario 2 Removed spending and reallocated it to consumers |
|
| Total Revenue Investment (TRI) (millions | $443 |
$661.5 |
$661.5 |
| Gross Regional Product (net present value) (billions) | $4 |
$7.24 |
$14.6 |
| Wages (net present value) (billions) (personal income) | $5.6 |
$15.2 |
$32.09 |
| Number of jobs produced | 68,700 |
189,500 |
455,413 |
| Average jobs produced (divided by 32) | 2,147 |
5,921 |
14,231 |
| Gross Regional Product increase for every dollar spent (GRP/TRI) | $9.08 |
$10.94 |
$22.07 |
| Income increase for every dollar spent (Wages/TRI) | $12.66 |
$22.97 |
$48.51 |
| One job created by every dollar spent (TRI/Number of jobs produced) | $6,488 |
$3,491 |
$1452 |
| Cost for users to use library (in time) (billions) | $1.83 |
$2.9 |
$2.9 |
| Benefit to state in terms of wages (GRP + Wages - TRI) (billions) | $9.2 |
$21.8 |
$46 |
| Benefit to cost ratio wages (Benefit to state/cost of users time) | 5 to 1 |
7.5 to 1 |
15.8 to 1 |
| Net benefit wages (Benefit to state-cost for users to use library) (billions) | $7.4 |
$18.9 |
$43.1 |
| Gross Regional Product (billions) | $6.7 |
$14.96 |
$32.8 |
| Benefit to cost ratio GRP (GRP/cost for users to use library) | 3.7 to 1 |
5.1 to 1 |
11.3 to 1 |
| Net benefit GRP (GRP - Cost for users to use library) (billions) | $4.9 |
$12 |
$40.2 |
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 Name | 2008 GRP |
County Name | 2008 GRP |
|||
| Lafayette | $ | 124,831,000 |
Citrus | $ | 2,451,449,000 |
|
| Glades | $ | 139,712,000 |
Santa Rosa | $ | 2,52,6042,000 |
|
| Dixie | $ | 198,020,000 |
Hernando | $ | 2,605,485,000 |
|
| Calhoun | $ | 207,261,000 |
Clay | $ | 3,103,414,000 |
|
| Liberty | $ | 216,753,000 |
Charlotte | $ | 3,177,848,000 |
|
| Franklin | $ | 227,992,000 |
Monroe | $ | 3,366,391,000 |
|
| Gilchrist | $ | 237,200,000 |
Indian River | $ | 3,979,188,000 |
|
| Jefferson | $ | 237,693,000 |
St. Johns | $ | 4,449,442,000 |
|
| Gulf | $ | 288,643,000 |
Martin | $ | 4,982,951,000 |
|
| Holmes | $ | 291,745,000 |
Osceola | $ | 5,060,401,000 |
|
| Union | $ | 307,202,000 |
St. Lucie | $ | 5,446,656,000 |
|
| Hamilton | $ | 316,945,000 |
Lake | $ | 5,913,078,000 |
|
| Madison | $ | 318,877,000 |
Bay | $ | 6,053,135,000 |
|
| Wakulla | $ | 413,592,000 |
Pasco | $ | 6,848,556,000 |
|
| Washington | $ | 436,190,000 |
Marion | $ | 7,327,275,000 |
|
| Baker | $ | 476,012,000 |
Okaloosa | $ | 8,762,548,000 |
|
| Taylor | $ | 537,363,000 |
Manatee | $ | 9,884,831,000 |
|
| Bradford | $ | 539,972,000 |
Alachua | $ | 10,053,414,000 |
|
| Levy | $ | 601,400,000 |
Escambia | $ | 11,243,247,000 |
|
| Hardee | $ | 620,918,000 |
Volusia | $ | 11,592,228,000 |
|
| DeSoto | $ | 747,420,000 |
Collier | $ | 11,758,452,000 |
|
| Suwannee | $ | 753,463,000 |
Leon | $ | 12,072,757,000 |
|
| Okeechobee | $ | 761,064,000 |
Sarasota | $ | 12,789,643,000 |
|
| Hendry | $ | 966,323,000 |
Seminole | $ | 15,651,569,000 |
|
| Gadsden | $ | 1,026,974,000 |
Polk | $ | 16,255,671,000 |
|
| Jackson | $ | 1,073,017,000 |
Lee | $ | 18,015,989,000 |
|
| Florida Public Libraries | $ | 1,076,140,000 |
Brevard | $ | 18,444,293,000 |
|
| Flagler | $ | 1,181,113,000 |
Pinellas | $ | 36,070,794,000 |
|
| Putnam | $ | 1,318,113,000 |
Duval | $ | 47,785,422,000 |
|
| Walton | $ | 1,423,502,000 |
Palm Beach | $ | 55,108,141,000 |
|
| Sumter | $ | 1,510,411,000 |
Hillsborough | $ | 59,347,846,000 |
|
| Nassau | $ | 1,581,294,000 |
Orange | $ | 60,661,076,000 |
|
| Columbia | $ | 1,711,173,000 |
Broward | $ | 69,503,075,000 |
|
| Highlands | $ | 1,899,886,000 |
Miami-Dade | $ | 103,816,165,000 |
|
Figures in 2004 dollars Source: Woods & Poole Economics; REMI |
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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
