The document discusses measuring the value of resources provided by NC LIVE, a consortium that provides online resources to North Carolina public libraries. It describes NC LIVE's efforts to calculate return on investment by determining the fair market value of resources, but issues with this approach are identified. The document then outlines a capstone project conducted by a graduate student to survey NC LIVE users and determine the value of eBooks, audiobooks, and videos to public library patrons based on their willingness to pay and other factors.

1. The Value of Collaboration for North Carolina’s Public Libraries Measuring Up

2. A consortium of 198 member libraries: All NC Public Libraries NC Community College System UNC System NC Independent Colleges & Universities NC LIVE is funded through the State Legislature and the NCICU Everyone across the state has the same access to NC LIVE resources via their local North Carolina library. What is NC LIVE?

3. Access to: eBooks Audio books (soon!) Videos Magazines, newspapers, journals Databases & More! Access via nclive.org, or your local library’s website. By purchasing or subscribing to online resources collaboratively, NC LIVE saves libraries $$$. What does NC LIVE give you?

4. (We think) we provide some really valuable stuff through libraries! So, we began asking questions: How do we prove (measure) our value for… Member libraries? Funding organizations? Government leaders? Our patrons? Tax payers? What do we need to be able to make some decisions about? Outreach (Which libraries are getting the most value from NC LIVE? Where should we focus our efforts?) Marketing (What resources are providing the highest value for patrons?) Resource Selection (What should we provide more of? What’s less important?) We know! … We’ll measure Return on Investment. Proving our Value

5. ROI = Benefit from Investment – Cost of Investment Cost of Investment We know the costs , and how much the resources are used, but how do we calculate “ benefit ?” We realized we needed to understand what NC LIVE resources are truly worth ( value ) to move forward with calculating the benefit and ROI. A simple calculation that seemed pretty straightforward, at first… ROI for NC LIVE Resources

6. The NC LIVE Resource Advisory Committee worked with NC LIVE staff to determine FMV. Determining Fair Market Value FMV = an estimate of the market value of a property, based on what a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured buyer would probably pay to a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured seller in the market. (Wikipedia)

7. Examples of Content with Market Correlations Academic eBooks [Amazon/Barnes & Noble] - $100 per full text download Trade eBooks [Amazon/Barnes & Noble] - $10 per full text view/download eAudio Books [Audible] - $15 per download Examples of Content without Market Correlation Novelist Plus Novelist K-8 Plus ArchiveGrid ArticleFirst ClasePeriodica OAIster WorldCat HeritageQuest Job & Career Accelerator Draft FMV Chart

8. There’s not a very solid way to determine a FMV for what NC LIVE is offering. There are a lot of items without a market correlation. Does that mean they don’t have any benefit or value? Buying & Borrowing are very different things. So, is it really fair to use FMV? The Problem

9. Maybe Fair Market Value is not quite the right measure… … then came Emily. What’s Next?

10. NC LIVE Supports public libraries Provides access to amazing resources My Bottom Line Public libraries Always something interesting Open and free Support education

11. NC LIVE Data NC LIVE collects a lot of data Resource usage data: http://nclive.org/usagereports Item views Sessions Searches Login data Website usage data

12. Public Library Data Inventory

13. Public Library Data

14. Public Library Data Usage

15. Public Library Data

16. Public Library Data Costs

17. Public Library Data

18. The data show changes over time . . . Materials available Demand for services Personnel Hours Budget Public Library Data We can ask questions about the data to make good choices for our libraries!

19. But what happens when the question we want to ask is about value ? Public Library Data

20. Public Library Data ? Value

21. Great marketing tool Makes patrons feel good about using the library Easy to understand NYLA Library Value Calculator

22. But . . . Are the estimated values accurate? NYLA Library Value Calculator

23. NYLA Library Value Calculator Cost of purchasing an audiobook Value of borrowing an audiobook = But . . . Are the estimated values accurate?

24. NYLA Library Value Calculator Cost of purchasing an audiobook Value of borrowing an audiobook = But . . . Are the estimated values accurate?

25. = NYLA Library Value Calculator Cost of purchasing an audiobook Value of borrowing an audiobook Selection Time Ownership Public good versus private good

26. NYLA Library Value Calculator So . . . Are the estimated values accurate? Not really.

27. How do we calculate the value of a public good?

28. The amount of money that someone is willing to pay to receive a particular good or service Willingness to Pay

29. Used to value things that do not have a market equivalent Determine what does or does not impact willingness to pay Often involves a hypothetical situation Willingness to Pay

30. How do we calculate the value of a public good?

31. How do we calculate the value of a public good an NC LIVE resource ?

32. How do we calculate the value of a public good an NC LIVE resource ? Find a graduate student who needs a topic for her capstone

33. Purpose Method Distribution Sample Questions Results How your library can help Capstone Project

34. Determine the value of eBooks , eAudio books and online videos Purpose to public library patrons

35. Determine the value of eBooks , eAudio books and online videos Purpose NC LIVE users from participating public libraries to public library patrons

36. Method Patron willingness to pay for eBooks, eAudio books & online videos Reason for refusal to pay Value

37. Method Value Patron willingness to pay for eBooks, eAudio books & online videos Reason for refusal to pay

38. Method Library characteristics Family characteristics Warm Glow Satisfaction Usage Value

39. Library characteristics Family characteristics Warm Glow Method Satisfaction Usage Frequency of visiting the library Frequency of using eBooks, eAudio books & online videos through library website Frequency of using a paid service for eBooks, eAudio books & online videos (Amazon, Netflix, iTunes) Purpose for using eBooks, eAudio books & online videos

40. Library characteristics Family characteristics Warm Glow Method Satisfaction Usage Selection Ease of use

41. Library characteristics Family characteristics Warm Glow Method Satisfaction Usage Importance of library services for family Importance of library services for community

42. Library characteristics Family characteristics Warm Glow Method Satisfaction Usage Age Age of family members Household income Education level Gender Ethnicity

43. Library characteristics Family characteristics Warm Glow Method Satisfaction Usage Number registered users Operating expenditures Additional eBooks, eAudio books & online videos

44. Method Library characteristics Family characteristics Warm Glow Satisfaction Usage Value

45. Survey Distribution

46. Survey Distribution

47. Survey Distribution

48. Survey Distribution

49. Sample Questions

50. Sample Questions Usage Satisfaction

51. Sample Questions Value

52. Sample Questions Warm Glow Family characteristics

53. Answer value question for three popular online resources Better understanding of what factors influence value One step closer to return on public library investment Results

54. Sign up to participate in the study Take a letter and study summary to your library director Spread the word to other libraries! How Your Library Can Help

55. Emily Guhde MLS/MPA 2012 UNC Chapel Hill [email_address] Jill Morris Assistant Director NC LIVE [email_address] Questions?