Blog
December 6, 2024
A Library Cost Study is a powerful tool for universities to strengthen their indirect cost rate proposals—an important component of recovering research-related costs. By conducting a Library Cost Study, a university can gain vital insights into how its library advances university research and reveal institution investments into research infrastructure. Additionally, librarians can gain valuable insights into library resource allocation and service development that can inform library impact assessments and budgetary planning.
Attain Partners’ newly modernized Library Cost Study accounts for the evolving nature of library support for federally funded research with improved workflows for data collection and analysis. The return on investment for a Library Cost Study goes beyond the recovery of research-related costs and includes:
Aligning the Library with University Strategy, Organizational Structure, and Costs
The Library Cost Study provides a comprehensive understanding of how the library serves the university mission through its collections, services, facilities, and staff. By linking the impact of library use, services, and resources, library leaders can articulate how they serve their institutions’ mission, goals, and objectives and the social benefit they generate through key service areas.
Clarifying Costs by Library User Type and Purpose of Library Use
One of the primary benefits of a Library Cost Study is understanding how library costs are allocated by the purpose of use (research, education, or patient care) by library users’ college/school affiliation and user type classification. For instance, library resource costs may vary significantly depending on whether resources are acquired and used by undergraduate students, graduate students, or faculty engaged in research. A Library Cost Study enables libraries to break down and understand these costs, giving clear insights into who benefits most from library resources and which services are most valuable to different user groups, departments, or disciplines.
Evidence-Based Library Decision-Making for Programmatic and Budgetary Planning
The results of a Library Cost Study offer insights that can inform programmatic decisions about how collection and staff resources are allocated and used. By understanding campus resource demands, libraries can make data-informed decisions to enhance or modify services, especially to support research more effectively. With this clear view of costs, library leaders can make decisions that directly benefit research faculty and students.
Demonstrating Library Impact on the Academic Research Mission
Libraries play a critical role in supporting the university’s research mission, and a Library Cost Study showcases the scale of this impact. By enumerating the library’s contribution to the research enterprise, the Library Cost Study makes it easier for university administrators to understand and appreciate the library’s value. In demonstrating the essential role the library plays in campus research, the data supports future growth and innovation.
Facilitating Library Budget Discussions with Empirical Data
A well-documented Library Cost Study supports budget discussions by grounding them in data. When it comes to budget requests, especially for research-related initiatives, being able to present precise numbers helps make a strong case for library budgets. Highlighting the library’s contributions to research can strengthen the library’s position when discussing funding priorities with university leadership, underscoring the library’s centrality to research success.
Enhancing Library Partnerships with Campus Research Administrators
Collaboration between libraries and campus research administrators during a Library Cost Study creates a valuable partnership. Research administrators are often deeply invested in the cost-recovery process, as indirect cost rate proposals support the university’s ability to secure funding for essential research projects. By working together on a Library Cost Study, libraries can better align with institutional goals and make a case for the resources they need to maintain high standards of support for research initiatives. This partnership enhances the visibility of the library’s role in the institution’s research ecosystem.
A Library Cost Study isn’t just a budgeting exercise; it’s a strategic tool that brings clarity to the library’s role in supporting research, deepens partnerships within the university, and strengthens budgetary negotiations. If your library hasn’t conducted a Library Cost Study, or it has been a while, now is a great time to explore its benefits. Attain Partners’ modernized Library Cost Study could enhance the impact of your library on campus and support your institution’s research goals.
Learn more about our Library Planning and Strategy services.
About the Authors
Hilary A. Craiglow leads our team of library strategists to strengthen library systems. With extensive experience leading academic and research libraries, Hilary has a deep understanding of college and university systems. She is a strategic and visionary administrator, melding rich library traditions with innovative forward-thinking services. As a data and mission-driven leader, she employs proven evaluation and assessment methods and creates organizational transformation through empathy and partnership.
Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe is a Professor and the Coordinator for Research Professional Development in the University Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is also a Specialist Leader at Attain Partners, bringing her industry knowledge and thought leadership of libraries, assessment, scholarly communications, innovation, and program evaluation practices to library consulting.
Martha Kyrillidou, Ph.D. is the President of Quality Metrics, LLC where she consults in strategy, planning, and assessment with a focus on improving library services. She was the original architect of the StatsQUAL suite of services at the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) where LibQUAL, ClimateQUAL, and MINES for Libraries were developed. Martha is a Research Associate at the iSchool at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Consulting Associate with Attain Partners. She has been a consultant for the Library Cost Study methodology for more than ten years.
