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Measuring (and Increasing) the Value of Academic Libraries

Measuring (and Increasing) the Value of Academic Libraries. Carol Tenopir University of Tennessee ctenopir@utk.edu. ALPSP February 2011. Implicit value (i.e., usage, downloads) Explicit value (i.e., interviews) Derived values (i.e., ROI). Value can be measured in many ways:.

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Measuring (and Increasing) the Value of Academic Libraries

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  1. Measuring (and Increasing) the Value of Academic Libraries Carol TenopirUniversity of Tennesseectenopir@utk.edu ALPSP February 2011

  2. Implicit value (i.e., usage, downloads) Explicit value (i.e., interviews) Derived values (i.e., ROI) Value can be measured in many ways:

  3. % change in ave # of Article Readings/Year & Ave Minutes/Reading by University Faculty in the US

  4. Purpose Outcomes Return on Investment (ROI) Going beyond implied value to show…

  5. Usage Citations Focus groups Return on Investment Perceptions Experiments Critical incident Contingent valuation Observations Conjoint measurement Interviews Methods for measuring value

  6. Series of studies • Surveys by Tenopir & King, 1977-Present using critical incident of last article reading • ROI in grants, Phase 1: case study at University of Illinois, completed 2008 • ROI in grants, Phase 2: expanded to 8 countries, completed 2010 • Value and ROI (2010-2012) (Lib-Value)

  7. Critical incident of last reading “The following questions in this section refer to the SCHOLARLY ARTICLE YOU READ MOST RECENTLY, even if you had read the article previously. Note that this last reading may not be typical, but will help us establish the range of patterns in reading.”

  8. Principal purpose of reading(Faculty in U.S. and Australia, 2004-2006, n=1433) Research 9% Teaching 11% Current 9% 51% Awareness Proposals 20% Other

  9. Source of reading by purpose of reading by faculty(Faculty in U.S. and Australia, 2004-2005, n=1412) Research Teaching Current Awareness

  10. Readings for research or writing • More likely to be rated “absolutely essential” • More likely to be found by searching • More likely to be from e-sources • More likely to be after the first year of publication • More likely to be from the library

  11. Outcomes of reading in order of frequency of responses(n=880) Inspired new thinking (55%) Improved results (40%) Changed focus (27%) Resolved technical problems (12%) Saved time (12%) Faster completion (7%) Collaboration (6%) Wasted my time (<1% of readings)

  12. E-Collections improve efficiency, writing, and research “I could not do the kind of research or teaching I do without these resources.” “E-access is essential for scientific writing” “[e-access] saves me a lot of time which can be used for more extensive reading.”

  13. Derived measures Return on Investment (ROI) is a quantitative measure expressed as a ratio of the value returned to the institution for each monetary unit invested in the library. For every $/€/£ spent on the library,the university received ‘X’ $/€/£ in return. Demonstrate that library collections contribute to income-generating activities

  14. ROI Phases 1 and 2Faculty Grant Research Cycle ConductResearch WriteArticles LIBRARY WriteReports &Proposals ObtainGrants

  15. ROI for University of Illinois grants (Phase 1) $4.38 grant income for each $1.00 invested in library (% of faculty who rated citations in proposals from library as important x % of proposals funded/library budget)

  16. Phase 2: grants only8 institutions in 8 countries

  17. Phase 2: ROI findings Research and Teaching • Under 1:1 Research and Teaching STM/Hum/SS • 1.3:1 to 3.4:1

  18. Administration values: Measuring up • 1) Attract outstanding faculty • Faculty who publish more read more • Faculty who receive awards read more • Library is main source of article readings • 2) Retain outstanding faculty • “I would leave this university in a microsecond if the library deteriorated” - U.S. University

  19. Administration values: measuring up 3) Foster innovative research • “I am now able to explore and trace back topics and check the developments that arose along the topic history making connections that were only dreams a few years ago.” -Western European Research Institute • For every article cited, 27-40 more are read • 4) Build research reputation of institution • In 2 universities, over 10 years an increase in library budget correlates with an increase in grant funding • Faculty with more publications and citations obtain more grants.* • *Ali & Bhattacharyya, “Research Grant and Faculty Productivity Nexus: Heterogeneity among Dissimilar Institutions.” Academic Analytics

  20. Administration values: Measuring up • 5) Promote seamless integration of the library with institutional research activities • “With the current workload, I could not continue with research without the convenience of access from my own computer” – South African University • A doubling in article downloads, from 1 to 2 million, is statistically associated with dramatic increases in research productivity** **Research Information Network. 2009. E-journals: their use, value and impact. Report prepared by Research Information Network.

  21. Lib-Value: Multiple institutions using multiple methods to measure multiple values for multiple stakeholders

  22. Current Projects Ebooks Special Collections Information Commons Journal Collections Value and ROI Teaching and Learning Reading and Scholarship Tools Website and Value Bibliography

  23. Anticipate change..New Scholarly Endeavors That Cut Across the Library’s Functional Areas Teaching / Learning Research Social / Professional E-science Collaborative Scholarship Scholarly Endeavors Institutional Repositories Functional Areas

  24. What we can show so far… Academic library e-collections help faculty be productive and successful Libraries help generate grants income E-collections (books, journals, etc.) are valued by faculty and students ROI varies by mission and location of institution Learning/information commons are reflecting changes in student work habits

  25. Some final thoughts on measuring value

  26. For further information: ctenopir@utk.eduhttp://libvalue.cci.utk.edu

  27. Tenopir, C., King, D. W., Edwards, S., Wu, L. (2009a). Electronic journals and changes in scholarly article seeking and reading patterns. Aslib Proceedings, 61 (1), 5-32. Tenopir, C., King, D. W., Spencer, J., Wu, L. (2009b). Variations in article seeking and reading patterns of academics: What makes a difference?. Library & Information Science Research, 31(3), 139-148. Tenopir, C. (2010). University Investment in the Library, Phase II: An International Study of the Library’s Value to the Grants Process. Report prepared for Elsevier LibraryConnect. http://libraryconnect.elsevier.com/whitepapers/roi2/lcwp021001.html.

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