Internet resources: New bibliographic database of library value

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is pleased to announce that a website for "Value, Outcomes, and Return on Investment of Academic Libraries (Lib-Value)," a three-year project funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), is now available. Lib-Value is a collaboration between the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Libraries, and the Association of Research Libraries, with partners at Syracuse University and participants at Baruch College (CUNY), Brooklyn College (CUNY), SUNY University at Buffalo, SUNY Buffalo State College, and Bryant University. 

A searchable bibliographic database of library value and ROI literature is now freely available. The database currently contains more than 400 entries, including books, book chapters, journal articles, theses and dissertations, reports, presentations, and free websites, covering the expanding literature on library value and evaluation, return on investment in libraries of all kinds, as well as foundational material on methodologies for determining value. This is a valuable resource for any professional interested in getting a head start on assessing library value updated on a regular basis. The database was compiled by Rachel Fleming-May, assistant professor in the UT College of Communication and Information’s (CCI) School of Information Sciences, and Crystal Sherline, a graduate student in the CCI.

The Lib-Value project is conducting research on value and ROI in academic libraries and developing a set of tested methodologies and tools to help academic librarians measure which products and services provide the most value to the university community and best support the university’s mission and goals