Overview

Public libraries meet new challenges in the information age. With a political context implying growing pressure on public budgets, libraries will need enhanced economic arguments for new investments in technology and public accessibility. The Value of Public Libraries includes a theoretical discussion of conditions for using economic methodology in library and information science and an empirical study of the value of Norwegian public libraries, using the economic method contingent valuation. This is the first study for contingent valuation of public libraries at a national level, in Norway and internationally. By surveying a representative sample of the populace an estimate of the libraries' value is reached.The conclusion is that, at a national level, the benefits are considerably higher than the costs, demonstrating that the public libraries in Norway generate four times their level of public funding. An overwhelming majority of the population (94 per cent) perceives they have property rights to the public library in their municipality. Both library users and non-users value the library. The majority states self-interest as well as social interest as motivations for the valuation. About 60 per cent of the total library value is justified by use value and self-interest and 35 per cent by social and cultural interests.

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