Measuring ROI for Research Libraries Phase I Judy Luther Informed Strategies ASERL Membership Meeting Spring 2010

© Informed Strategies Project Objective “It used to be that the way you put together a library budget was to look at like institutions and then argue for a little more. Now my provost is saying to me then argue for a little more. Now my provost is saying to me, “If I give you x dollars, what is the return on investment to the University?” T. Scott Plutchak, Librarian, University of Alabama at Birmingham Project Objective To articulate library’s value in terms of institutional objectives Criteria for Measurement Quantifiable Meaningful & compelling Replicable by other institutions 1

© Informed Strategies Administration Priorities University Goals Attract and retain outstanding faculty Increase impact of university’s research Sustain & enhance university’s reputation University Strategic Plan Focus on new intellectual directions Strengthen interdisciplinary work Find resources Connect with community, state, nation, globally Achieve efficiency in all areas 2

© Informed Strategies Connect Research to Revenue 3 Faculty research Publications Grants

© Informed Strategies Value of Library Teaching & Learning Social & Professional 4 Research & Publications

© Informed Strategies Literature Review Assessments in literature survey –Academic: Cost/benefit analyses – time saved Faculty productivity – correlate citations and grants –Public: econometric & contingent valuation –Corporate: Time/cost saved & income generated Correlation over time – explored but not used –Too early to have enough reliable usage data –New system with invalid data for 1 year –Time lag between application & award –Regression analysis 5

© Informed Strategies Hypothesis 6

© Informed Strategies Data Collection Grant income – All disciplines & types of faculty grants – Grant $ expended not awarded Library budget – Not limited to materials – Use ARL data on entire library budget Survey – Include tenure track faculty – grant proposals – Exclude professional academics - little involvement Criteria: clearly defined, reliable, accessible 7

© Informed Strategies The Survey Test Assumptions – Faculty use citations in grant proposals – Citations are important in successful grant proposals – Citations used in grant proposals are found through university network / Library gateway Implement Survey – More than 2000 tenure track faculty – All disciplines – Espresso card incentive – IRB approval 8

© Informed Strategies Model (# faculty with grants x 94% use citations in grant proposals) = % faculty using citations in grant proposals x (# grant proposals x 94% obtain citations through library gateway) X (# grant awards x 95% state citations important)= % proposals include citations obtained thru library x Average size grant = Avg grant $ generated using citations obtained through library X # of grants ÷ $ library budget = $ grant income for each $1 invested in library (ROI value) 9

© Informed Strategies Study – Intent & Limitations ROI = income received as a % of amount invested Demonstrate quantitatively that –the investment in library collections –contributes directly to university receiving income Disclaimers –Cannot be predictive –Was not intended to increase claim on grant funds –Focused on income rather than savings in cost or time –Did not include tech transfer from research 10

© Informed Strategies Survey Response 16% response rate 328/2045 –>50% spend >50% of their time doing research Respondents were evenly distributed across multiple profiles –Disciplines: Social Science, Arts & Humanities Life Sciences, Health Sciences –Faculty rank Full professor, Associate, Assistant –Time at university 5 yrs or less, 6-15 years, more than 15 years 11

© Informed Strategies Survey Results Assumptions –95% Faculty indicated references vital –94% Faculty report using library resources in grant proposals –94% Faculty obtain citations via campus network/Library Gateway Comments –Better quality, more competitive proposals –Enhanced interdisciplinary exploration –Integrated with their workflow –Increased efficiency and productivity 12

© Informed Strategies Quotes “Without…references the grant proposal would likely not be reviewed.” “A sure way to kill a proposal is not to give proper credit or to not update new developments.” “It has increased the strength of my grant proposals...by allowing for…thorough evaluation of the literature on any particular topic.” “’Finding’ and ‘accessing’ is synonymous with ‘reading’ when access is via the online gateway.” 13

© Informed Strategies UIUC Model for % faculty w/ grants using citations X 50.79% grant successful proposals using citations from library X $63,923 avg. grant income = $25,369 avg. grant income generated using citations from library X 6,232 grants expended ÷ $36,102,613 library budget = $4.38 grant income for each $1.00 invested by the university in the library (ROI Value) 14

© Informed Strategies Looking Forward Phase II – Gayle Baker – Broaden to more institutions IMLSStudy – Carol Tenopir – Expand the model to include more inputs – Widen the study to include other aspects of library value 15