Toward Meaningful Academic Library Ratio Analysis Brinley Franklin Stellenbosch, South Africa 15 August 2007

Ratio Analysis A tool used to conduct a quantitative analysis of information. Ratios are calculated from current year numbers and are then compared to previous years, other organizations, the industry, or even the economy to judge the performance of the organization. Ratio analysis is predominately used by proponents of fundamental analysis.

New Ways of Measuring Collections The ARL Task Force on New Ways of Measuring Collections was established in December, 2004 and charged with identifying relevant issues and proposing changes on how ARL should be measuring research library collections. More than 100 ARL directors were interviewed in early Some directors felt ratio analysis would help offset the traditional measures in which “bigger was better.” A recent article shows that the top fifteen liberal arts colleges libraries spend an average of $2,077 per FTE while the 216 liberal arts colleges reporting to NCES average $633 per FTE and the 3,700 academic libraries reporting to NCES average $386 per FTE.* (The 112 ARL libraries range from $2800 to $188 per FTE) Do we currently have meaningful ways to use ratio analysis to effectively describe our expenditures for collections? *D. Yvonne Jones, “How Much Do the “Best” Colleges Spend on Libraries? Using College Rankings to Provide Library Financial Benchmarks” College and Research Libraries (July, 2007)

Generating Ratios Using ARL Statistics

UConn’s current ARL ratios: Library Materials Expenditures$8.2 million # of Faculty1,541=$5,321 Library Materials Expenditures$8.2 million # of Undergraduates21,664=$378 Library Materials Expenditures$8.2 million # of Graduate Students4,130=$1,985 To actually spend this much per capita would require $24.6 million

Another Look at the Facts UConn Main Law Health Center Materials Expenses$8.2 m $5.34m $1.25 m $1.61 m # of Faculty 1,541 1, # of Undergraduates21,664 21, # of Graduate Students 4,130 2,

One of the ACRL Standards’ suggested points of comparison for input measures is: Ratio of material/information resource expenditures Combined total of student and faculty FTE All UConn Libraries = $8.2 million = $300 27,335 UConn Main Library = $5.34 million = $208 25,671 UConn Health Center = $1.61 million = $1, UConn Law Library = $1.25 million = $1,

At the main library, library user surveys have determined that library materials (all formats combined) are actually used as follows: % of use % of $ per capita Undergraduates 40% $2.14m $99 Graduate Students 51% $2.72m $936 Faculty5% $267,000 $243 All Other Users 4% $214,000 $200 Towards Meaningful Ratio Analysis This calculation truly reflects $5.34 million in materials expenses at the main library.

Incorporating User Survey Data At UConn’s main library, user surveys have demonstrated that library materials are actually used as follows, by format: Print Electronic Other Books Journals Resources Materials Undergraduates 34% 36% 28% 39% Graduate Students 52% 53% 35% 53% Faculty 9% 5% 28% 4% Other Users 5% 6% 8% 4%

Print Electronic Other Per Capita Books Journals Resources Materials Expenses Undergraduates $14 $16 $40 $7 $77 Graduate Students $154 $174 $566 $75 $969 Faculty $71 $43 $113 $15 $242 Per Capita Expenses by Format – Main Library

Towards Meaningful Ratio Analysis At the UConn Health Center library, user surveys have determined that library materials (all formats combined) are actually used as follows: % of use $ as a % per capita Graduate Students 49%$789,000$1,627 Faculty 41%$660,000$1,658 All Other Users 10%$161,000 $1,642 This calculation truly reflects $1.61 million in materials expenditures at the Health Center Library

At the UConn Health Center Library, user surveys have determined that library materials are actually used as follows, by format: Print Electronic Other Books Journals Resources Materials Graduate Students 57% 40% 35% 49% Faculty 36% 46% 54% 41% Other Users 7% 14% 11% 10% Incorporating User Survey Data

Per Capita Expenses by Format – Medical Library Print Electronic Other Per Capita Books Journals Resources Materials Expenses Graduate Students $170 $720 $410 $32 $1,332 Faculty $131 $1,009 $771 $32 $1,943

ARL by Total Materials Total Materials Expenses ARL Library ACRL Materials Use by Ratio Ratio Ratio Use Ratio Format Ratio All UConn Libraries Per Undergraduate $378 Per Graduate Student $1,985 Per Faculty Member $5,321 Students and Faculty $300 UConn Main Library Per Undergraduate $246 $99 $77 Per Graduate Student $1,836 $936 $969 Per Faculty Member $4,863 $243 $242 Students and Faculty $208 UConn Medical Library Per Graduate Student $3,320 $1,627 $1,332 Per Faculty Member $4,045 $1,658 $1,943 Students and Faculty $1,823 UConn Law Library Per Graduate Student $1,698 Per Faculty Member $27,778 Students and Faculty $1,600 Toward Meaningful Academic Library Ratio Analysis

If Libraries were to use ratio analysis to measure collections expenditures per capita: The combined cost of each materials expenditures ratio for a library (e.g., undergraduates, faculty, and graduate students) should total that library’s total expenditures for materials. Grouping different types of libraries together into an institutional ratio leads to very different ratios than looking at individual libraries separately. Identifying materials usage by user group by library gives more accurate ratios of materials expenses per capita than the other approached I identified.

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