Your Library Card Is Worth More Than You Think

Thursday, 20 February 2020 08:59

The total economic benefit of library services in Woodstock is worth an estimated $19.3 million according to a recent study commissioned by the library.

WOODSTOCK - A new study commissioned by the Woodstock Public Library shows how much a library card is really worth.

Using data from 2018, the Library selected a study methodology developed by the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto for the Toronto Public Library, and subsequently used by numerous other libraries such as London, Halton Hills, Milton, Stratford, and Pickering.

CEO David Harvie says the Woodstock Public Library aims to expand the understanding of the value that the Library brings to the community beyond basic qualitative and quantitative data to include more financially based quantitative data.

"Determining the economic impact of the Library, including the return on investment (ROI) to Woodstock residents, is an important step towards this end.”

Based on 2018 statistics, the study findings report the value of library services as follows:

- The total economic benefit of library services to the community was $19.3 million.
- For every $1 invested, the Library generated $7.20 in return.
- The value of a Woodstock Public Library Card was $1,508.42.

Harvie says a lot of factors are considered when coming up with these numbers.

"We looked at direct and indirect benefits to the community. Direct benefits would look at things like how much would they have paid for that book they just borrowed or how much would they have paid to buy that DVD or attend that children's program, those are direct costs that would have to come out of their pocket. Then their is the indirect costs, our salaries that we pay our staff are used in our community to buy services, so that is once again an indirect economic benefit that the study looked at."

He adds they used data from 2018, because the cyber incident in 2019, may have impacted the numbers. You can read the entire study online here.