This time last year, I shared with you some thoughts about the growing body of work looking at the relationship between Return-on-Investment (ROI) and academic libraries.

In 2008, Elsevier partnered with the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana to develop a ROI model for academic libraries. The concept was to understand the main drivers of university administrators and develop a return on investment model that articulates the value of information resources in terms that are core to the administration.   This single case study demonstrated a $4.38 grant income for each $1.00 invested by the university in the library (ROI Value). 

Since that time, Elsevier has been working with Dr. Carol Tenopir of the University of Tennessee to broaden the study and I am pleased to inform you that the second phase of the research is now completed.   The second phase refines and validates the methodology developed in the original case study conducted with the University of Illinois. Of the eight participating institutions from around the globe in phase II, six demonstrated a greater than one-to-one (1:1) return in grant funding alone; results ranging from $15.54:1 to 0.64:1.  Equally significant is the result that two institutions showed a significant positive correlation between an increase in library investment over time and an increase in grant funding to the university. Both white papers for phases   1 and   2 of the study are available for download at   Library Connect.

And why all this attention to ROI? In these volatile economic times, most pundits to politicians agree that research and innovation are core to economic recovery.   Quality information is a foundation of the research enterprise and both libraries and publishers are challenged to measure and demonstrate the value we bring to that endeavor.  The fact that other independent studies reinforce the value of information is encouraging.      E-journals: their use, value and impact, by Dr. Ian Rowlands and Professor David Nicholas, with the Centre for Information Behaviour and the Evaluation of Research (CIBER) study group, demonstrate a significant pattern in the relationship between the number of downloads and the value of research grants awarded to universities.

In discussing these studies, I’ve been challenged on occasion about why the focus on research grants? Surely there are many other values associated with information and libraries.  On that point, I agree whole heartedly.  Research grants as a focal point was, quite honestly, the easiest place to start.  Elsevier has been proud to sponsor these initial two studies on ROI, but we are even more pleased to see that this work has grown far beyond our efforts.  In September 2009, Dr. Tenopir and her team were awarded a   major grant by the IMLS to demonstrate the return on investment (ROI) and value of the library to the institution, examining many more points of value beyond funding.  Elsevier congratulates the team and look forward to their findings. 

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