In business, the return on investment, or ROI, metric determines whether a resource is giving the investor enough “bang for the buck.”
We daily make these same determinations as to whether something is worth our time or money. Any entity can use ROI to evaluate impact on stakeholders and identify ways to improve performance.
The Florida Department of State’s Division of Library and Information Services selected the Haas Center at the University of West Florida to update the Taxpayer Return on Investment Study conducted for the State Library System.
In 2008, for every tax dollar received, Florida public libraries provided $8.32 in value; in Okaloosa County, it was a $10.03 return. See http://haas.uwf.edu/library for the full report.
The Haas Center seeks citizen input by taking a short survey designed to assess patrons’ use and valuation of the library. It asks critical questions about the types of services that library patrons receive.
Find a link to this survey at www.cityofcrestview.org/library.php
Sandra Dreaden is the Crestview Public Library's reference librarian.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CHECK IT OUT: Taxpayer input sought for library ROI study