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Public Library Benefits Valuation Study Future Research |
| The SLPL study team wants to carry forward its
CBA research with two objectives: First to test the methodology with smaller and
middle-sided libraries, and second, to develop a less expensive form of survey. Following
on those two objectives, the SLPL research team hosted a pre-project luncheon at the
American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in January 2001. Along with project
participants, invited attendees included numerous representatives of a dozen smaller and
middle-size libraries from four different states. At this luncheon, the research team
discussed with these libraries the possibility of working with them to develop
cost-benefit analyses of their systems. Preceding and after this meeting the St. Louis
team held several meetings to discuss how to create a reliable, transportable CBA
library-benefits model at less cost than the previous study. Since such a great percentage
of the total benefits fell into just a few categories, the team has devised a new question
schedule that is shorter and with fewer branches than the survey instrument used in the
urban libraries study. These strategies are outlined in a funding proposal that SLPL has
submitted to IMLS for calendar 2002-2003. Because of the visibility of the SLPL project, its researchers have had contact with researchers interested in doing library CBA study in many different United States library systems and in several foreign countries. Those contacts are described previously in this report. |
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