HARRISBURG, Pa., June 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Librarians have been saying for years that public libraries are a bargain. Now they have got the numbers to prove it.
According to a study conducted by the University of North Carolina's School of Information and Library Science, Pennsylvania taxpayers receive a return of $5.50 for every $1 they invest in public libraries in Pennsylvania. That means a return of $55 for every $10 of local, state and federal taxes we invest in supporting our public libraries.
The Pennsylvania Library Association (PaLA) is collaborating with Pennsylvania's Office of Commonwealth Libraries, which commissioned the study, to spread the word about the results. This study is part of a state-by-state national project.
If public libraries in Pennsylvania were to disappear, the study concluded, the total economic loss to users and local economies would amount to approximately $1.34 billion.
That potential economic loss is approximately 5.5 times the $249 million that Pennsylvania taxpayers currently dedicate annually to support public libraries at all levels.
"This is a remarkable study that helps us better understand and appreciate the magnitude of the role that public libraries play in our lives," said Glenn Miller, executive director of PaLA.
The study said that "if there were no public libraries, citizens and organizational users would be faced with a much higher cost in terms of both time and money to obtain the needed information from alternative sources."
The potential loss also would include lost wages and salaries of library employees and lost revenue sustained by related or nearby businesses.
"We have always regarded our public libraries as valuable community resources, but for the first time we are now able to quantify and measure their value," Miller said.
"This study provides conclusive evidence that public libraries contribute significant economic impact to our communities," said Gerald L. Zahorchak, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Education, which includes the Office of Commonwealth Libraries. "Now everyone will understand the importance of our libraries as an economic tool, and it will change the way we think about public libraries."
As of 2006, Pennsylvania had 474 public libraries serving a population of nearly 12 million residents, according to the study. Including satellites such as branches and bookmobiles, as well, the total number of available library outlets to Pennsylvania residents is 630.
The study revealed that during a year's time, 51.6 percent of adults in Pennsylvania visited a public library in person and 13.2 percent used a remote connection to visit a public library.
Overall, Pennsylvania's public libraries recorded 40.8 million in-person visits in the year previous to the study -- 48.2 percent by adults, 39 percent by school-age children, 8.4 percent by adults who brought children and 4.4 percent by tourists.
Large numbers of library patrons came to get information for work-related activities, to research personal or family issues, to study and do school work or just to stay current -- not just for recreation and entertainment. Overall, the study said, 43 percent of all in-person visits were education-related in some way.
Public libraries also recorded 11.4 million visits by remote connection in the year previous to the study. The largest group of remote users, 44 percent, logged on to get information related to personal or family issues.
"Pennsylvania libraries are used extensively because the information and services they provide are found to be trustworthy, the best source available to users and convenient or easy to use," the study said.
Conducted in 2006, the study encompassed four surveys done in conjunction with the Center for Social and Urban Research at the University of Pittsburgh.
The surveys included a statewide telephone survey that amassed 1,128 interviews; an in-library survey of 2,614 users at 19 libraries and their branches; a survey of 226 librarians at universities and colleges, businesses and private organizations; and a follow-up survey that went to 112 public libraries.
The study also used annual statistics compiled by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries and calculations of the economic value of library benefits by means of a "statewide economic input-output model."
The full study, Taxpayer Return-on-Investment (ROI) in Pennsylvania Public Libraries, is available at http://www.statelibrary.state.pa.us/ .
This project is supported in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries.
Pennsylvania Library Association
CONTACT: Cheryl Slavinsky of PPO&S for The Pennsylvania Library
Association, +1-717-232-1898, cslavinsky@pposinc.com, cell, +1-717-433-0406
