New Study Measures Academic Library ROI & Grants; More Research Coming
By Norman Oder Aug 12, 2010Researchers are getting better at estimating the return on investment (ROI) from academic library collections when it comes to grants, and a new international study of eight libraries suggests that there can be wide variances.
For every monetary unit invested in academic libraries, the parent institutions received a return on investment (ROI) of between 15.54:1 to 0.64:1 in research grant income. If only the portion of the library budget related to e-collections is examined, the ROI rates range from 155:1 to 6.4:1.
Such results suggest that there are many factors at work, notably the university's focus on STM research, the area most likely to generate grants. The study calculates and analyzes grant income using citations from the library's collections.
While a press release from Elsevier, which contributed $32,400 to fund much of the study, states that "Correlation Found Between Investment in University Libraries and Grant Awards," a correlation between an increase in library spending and an increase in grants was found in only two of the eight libraries.
Indeed, reflecting on the white paper University Investment in the Library, Phase II: An International Study of the Library's Value to the Grants Process, principal investigator Carol Tenopir told LJ, "We were pretty conservative in our presentation—in two it was correlated but we make no claims for causation or predictability."
The study also includes interviews with administrators and faculty surveys; faculty members say access to electronic resources helps them work more efficiently, makes it easier to prepare grant proposals, and improves research and teaching.
The issue of mission
Tenopir directs the Center for Information and Communication Studies at the College of Communication and Information, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and is LJ's longtime Online Databases columnist. "ROI is one tool for measuring and demonstrating the value of the library," she noted, pointing out that it "should be considered within the context of the mission of the institution."
This study looked at ROI from grants, she pointed out, and the amount varied due to the differing emphasis on externally funded research in these institutions and the subject disciplines covered by the institutions. "ROI from all library functions and services will give a more complete picture," she added.
(That's exactly what the multi-component Phase III study, Value, Outcomes, and Return on Investment of Academic Libraries, the Lib-Value project, will attempt to do, as described later in this article.)
The grants study: closer look
This recently-completed Phase II project expands to eight libraries in eight countries a case study conducted with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in 2008 ($4.38 in grants for every dollar invested in the library), as Tenopir mentioned in her July 2009 column.
Those faculty survey respondents who gained grants cite more articles/books and read more on average than those who received no funding. In most cases, at least half of the articles and books they cite in grant proposals, reports, and publications come from the library.
Only half? "The readings from the library's e-collections are likely an underestimate by respondents," Tenopir observed, "because with good link resolvers and transparent library systems, faculty are not always aware that they are getting access to full texts (from a Google Scholar search, for example) because the library has a subscription and they are recognized as an authenticated user. Libraries may be underappreciated by faculty who think everything is available free on the Internet."
Then again, she pointed out, "if publishing price models change substantially to author pays or other open access models, libraries should not base all their value calculations solely on the value of their collections."
Subject disciplines, she stressed, make a significant difference, so one part of Phase III will involve a look at such specifics.
The new study
Phase III, a $1 million-project funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, will involve eight U.S. academic libraries regarding a range of library products and services. Tenopir and UIUC's Paula Kaufman are the co-principal investigators, and the Association of Research Libraries, along with Tenopir's and Kaufman's institutions, is a collaborator.
Among the outcomes expected are an ROI calculation made in three test libraries; a model for collecting and calculating ROI in other academic libraries; and web-based tools for determining ROI that can be used to demonstrate value at specific libraries and to help them set priorities.
"If we pin our whole value on collections, we run a risk: economic models change," Tenopir told LJ. "By looking at services, we get into the value added that librarians bring. If we look at teaching and learning, we look at the value of user instruction as provided by librarians." One study will compare how librarians spend their time versus a 2004 assessment.
And that's one of multiple studies, including usage of ebooks, the impact of special collections on fundraising, the value of information commons areas, and the impact of the library student success. "Grants are easiest [to measure], because there's money coming in," Tenopir said. For the rest, "sometimes the values are not quite so easily quantifiable, though we will be attempting to do that."
Looking more closely
How does one measure the value of an information commons? "Part of it's going to be qualitative, interviews with students who use it and faculty members who use it," Tenopir said.
For example, some faculty members say that the availability of group study space, technology, and assistance allow them to give interactive assignments. "It's important for a university administrator, or provost to know," she said.
Another study attempts to look at the relationship between student success and the use of library services and collections. "So a hypothesis would be that students exposed more to the library or who use library services more are more likely to stay in school," said Tenopir, who cautioned that it's not necessarily a case of causation.
Ultimate impact
"We can't possibly do every single method at every single academic institution," said Tenopir, noting that the Lib-Value site contains a bibliography of relevant research that can also be helpful.
"Depending on the mission of the particular situation, what methods you're going to use are going to vary. It would be folly for a teaching intensive college library to hinge their ROI on grants. What we really hope to do is have for academic librarians a set of tested methods that they can then use as appropriate in their particular organization, with the pros and cons of the methods."
Has this become more urgent, given the economic downturn?
Tenopir noted she's been doing such work for years, with Donald King of the University of North Carolina School of Information and Library Science. "I think it's always been important, demonstrating value, it's a normal part of what we do," she said. "It isn't only saying ‘hey, we're great,' it's helping libraries choose among alternatives."
