Volume 1 • Number 3 September 2003 Subscribe, View PDF Welcome Introduction by Karen Hunter Features Measuring Library Value Justifying Costs in the Changing Library Environment Engaging Patrons through Strategic Marketing Getting Published in LIS Journals So, You're an Author! Where to Turn? The Author Gateway, of Course! Behind the Scenes Customizing Our Support Programs: Asia Pacific Librarians in the Spotlight Center of Attention For the Love of Libraries Librarians Speak Up Grassroots Advocacy Additional Resources: Library Advocacy and Marketing Community Connections Success Stories From the Field: South Africa Success Stories From the Field: UK Ask UCD (User Centered Design Group) Lending Our Support to Library Associations 5 Quick Questions Elsevier Foundation Update On the Road Library Connect in Mexico, Berlin, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and Australia Staying Connected Upcoming Events Come Meet us on the Web! Elsevier offers live product training via WebEx Contact Information Library Connect Editorial Office ELSEVIER 525 B Street, Suite 1900 San Diego, CA 92101, USA Phone: +1-619-699-6283 Fax +1-619-699-6380 libraryconnect@elsevier.com

Many librarians developing digital collections and supporting services for their researchers find themselves faced not only with increasing budgetary constraints, but also with a lack of information on how offering these far-reaching changes will affect their finances. Moving forward, certain library services, activities, and costs will decrease whereas others will increase. How will this affect a library’s budget?

Help is at hand! A project team working in Europe has developed a model for academic libraries that can be used to give detailed insight into a library’s current financial structure and to quantify the impact of the transition to a digital environment. Elsevier commissioned the project and Atos KPMG Consulting provided the methodology (Rapid Activity Based Costing) and financial expertise.

The resulting financial model is based on three “real-life” cases and exists thanks to the co-operation of the libraries of the universities of Utrecht in the Netherlands, Luleå in Sweden, and Bremen in Germany. Each university selected library staff from different key positions and backgrounds to attend workshops where their library’s current situation was defined, and estimated future costs were modeled.

By taking away financial uncertainty the model can support the library management’s decision-making process. The model shows that, by implementing electronic information services, the library can deliver more services while freeing up resources that can be used to develop the library even further. The next project worthy of further research is the effect in scientific article output or research quality that is evoked by the new library environment.

“A very positive aspect of this research, aside from the co-operative effort involved, is that all participants gained a detailed insight into library costs before and after the transition to a digital environment and were able to show, to varying degrees, that the added value of library services increases,” says Joost Kollöffel, Market Intelligence Manager, Elsevier, The Netherlands.

Read more about the research in the paper “Developing a cost/benefit financial model for hybrid libraries,” Serials, Volume 16 (1), 2003 — authored by Joost, together with Arian Kaandorp, Senior Consultant, Atos KPMG Consulting, and their co-authors: Bas Savenije, Library Director University of Utrecht, Terje Hoiseth, Library Director, University of Luleå, and Annette Rath-Beckmann, Library Director, University of Bremen. You can find the article online at www.info.sciencedirect.com/licensing_options/index.shtml.

Contributed by Charlotte Dewhurst, Senior Account Development & Channel Marketing Manager, Elsevier, San Diego, USA

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