Return on Investment (ROI)

The Ohio Library Council recently developed a Return on Investment calculator, and is making the tool available to libraries. The ROI Calculator is in an Excel spreadsheet to be completed by a library and includes instructions on how to complete the calculator, an explanation of what the ROI figures mean, and notes on the pricing and cost assumptions. View a tutorial on how to use the calculator.

Download the ROI Calculator


Additional Resources and Examples

Branches of Opportunity

New York City's public libraries are serving more people in more ways than ever before, and have become an increasingly critical part of the city's human capital system; but they have been undervalued by policymakers and face growing threats in today's digital age.  This report is published by the Center for an Urban Future, a New York City-based think tank that fuses journalistic reporting techniques with traditional policy analysis to produce in-depth reports and workable policy solutions on the critical issues facing our cities.

Published 2013


Texas Public Libraries:  Economic Benefits and Return on Investment

Did you know that for every $1.00 invested in public libraries around the state, Texans receive $4.64 worth of library services and value in return? Or that Texas public libraries provide over $1.652 billion dollars in economic benefit statewide? Get more useful facts and information from the 2017 study Texas Public Libraries: Economic Benefits and Return on Investment.

Published 2017


Library Valuation Assessment Stresses Sharing National Agenda

The report from the Americans for Libraries (ALC), "Worth Their Weight: An Assessment of the Evolving Field of Library Valuation," takes a close look at the growing effort to quantify the value of libraries, as exemplified in summaries of 17 valuation and impact studies and points toward better analysis in the future. The project was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. "While the field of library evaluation is still young, we have observed several salient trends," write coauthors Susan Imholz, consultant to ALC on the Gates Initiative, and Jennifer Weil Arns, University of South Carolina School of Library and Information Science.

Published 2007

iREAD Summer Reading Programs

Since 1981, iREAD provides high quality, low-cost resources and products that enable local library staff to motivate children, young adults, and adults to read.

Visit the iREAD website »