Libraries are economic assets that provide a wealth of material and services to a community. A thriving, attractive library not only attracts businesses, but is also good for everyone’s bottom line. The more you use your academic, public, school, or special library, the greater the return on your investment (ROI). Libraries of all types stretch their resources to provide everyone with access to items such as books, magazines, DVDs, CDs, and services such as Internet access, use of expensive databases, and a wide variety of educational and cultural programs. To easily translate these services into the dollars and cents benefit each library user receives, the North Suburban Library System has created the ROI Calculator.

The numbers make a powerful statement and are a great way to market library services. Both libraries and individuals can use the calculator to determine the return on each dollar spent. Libraries may use the calculator to provide a concrete example of how they use tax dollars to provide the community with services. Individuals may use it to see how much they would spend in out-of- pocket expenses for materials and services they use per library visit.

Use the calculator to determine: a library’s ROI to its community OR a library user’s savings per visit