Putting a Dollar Amount on Information Filtering and Retrieval

I caught the MN-ASIS conversation with Jerry Baldwin on Library ROI tonight.

Jerry’s spent the past 30 years in the Minnesota Department of Transportation Library and he shared some intriguing numbers on the value of a good librarian. Not news to a fan of the classic Tracy and Hepburn flick Deskset, but good numbers.

  • Average value created by someone reading a requested article: $600
  • Average hours saved by librarian handling request: 1-2
  • Average hours saved by librarian handling in-depth analysis: 8-16

Even in these 3 points, it’s easy to see the value of having someone focus on an organization’s information needs. When Jerry pulled together his numbers, the library cost $700,000/year to maintain. Yet, the aggregate value added was more than $8 million. More than 10:1 in favor of librarians.

With more information published than ever before, the need for better information filters and organizers (librarians) actually increases.