Sometimes it is difficult to place a dollar value on the things we love - after all, these things are beyond price. For example, we all love our library and can relate many examples of its value to the community. But what about a dollar value? The Massachusetts Library Association created a Library Value Calculator that can determine the value of your library use. The cost of items in the calculator are based on average prices for books, music downloads, movie and newspaper subscriptions, and various types of program admission fees. For more information about the calculator click here, or give it a try for your use.
We ran our numbers for last year through the calculator and came up with the following:
144,101 Adult books borrowed: value $2,449,717.00
113,222 Children's books borrowed: value $ 1,924,774.00
36,360 Interlibrary loan requests: value $908,750.00
3,636 eBooks downloaded: value $54,540.00
3,600 Music downloaded: value $3,600.00
1,358 adult programs attended: value $20,370.00
757 Young adult programs attended: value $9,084.00
10,768 Children's programs attended: value $75376.00
42432 Hours computer use (@$12/ hour) $509,184
5,000 Database Searches: value $997,500.00
19,907 Hours reference assistance: value $139,349.00
Approximate Value for 2011: $7,092,244.00
What a bargain!
Mind-boggling! I wish more people realized what a gem (and cost-saver) libraries are.
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