Library Return on Investment Calculator

Studies from across the country show that public libraries contribute to the economic growth of communities and provide a significant return on investment for taxpayers.

Douglas County Libraries usage--2012 [2]
Douglas County Libraries Return on Investment [3]

Use the table below to calculate the value of the services you receive from Douglas County Libraries.

Please enter the number of times you use the following library services each month

Your Use	Library Services	Value of Services
	Books Borrowed per Month	$
	Magazines Borrowed per Month	$
	Videos Borrowed per Month	$
	Audio Books Borrowed per Month	$
	In-Library Magazine Use per Month	$
	Interlibrary Loans per Month	$
	Meeting Rooms Use (Hours per Month)	$
	Program/Class Attended per Month - Adult	$
	Program/Class Attended per Month - Child	$
	Computer Use (Hours per Month)	$
	Databases Used per Month (Number of Separate Databases)	$
	Reference Questions Asked per Month	$
Value you receive monthly from your library:		$
For every $1.00 in taxes you invest in your library, you receive $ of value in return*

Where did these numbers come from?
Typical taxpayer contributions are determined from the library's 2006 local income per capita. For libraries in Colorado, this can be found at http://www.lrs.org/pub_stats.php [4]. We borrowed value of library service figures from Maine State Library's Library Use Value Calculator [5]. For more information, see their explanation [6].

*Your personal return on investment is based on your responses and the typical annual tax contribution for Douglas County Libraries. You see a returned value of $ for every one dollar invested. Visit http://www.lrs.org/pub_stats.php [4] to find Local Income per Capita for Colorado's public libraries.