Economic Impact

The public library provides important intangible and indirect benefits and has become increasingly vital in this era because of the reliance on - and expectation of - public access to networked information services and resources. As the nation and the world continue to move into the networked invironment with increased access to a broad range of digital information, one may reasonably expect additional economic benefits to result from networked services and programs in the public library. (p.225)

Another CV (contingent valuation) survey of public libraries... has recently been reported by Svanhild Aabo, who estimated that Norwegian public libraries represent, on average, a 4:1 benefit-cost ratio. (p.441)

Homes within ¼ mile of a Library are worth, on average, $9,630 more than homes more than ¼ mile from a Library. For homes between ¼ and ½ mile of a Library, the additional value is $650.Libraries are responsible for $698 million in home values in Philadelphia. That’s an increase in home values that homeowners can borrow against to finance education, home improvements and other types of spending.The additional home values generated by proximity to a Library produce an additional $18.5 million in property taxes to the City and School District each year. Under a scenario of accurate and timely assessments, this is how much property tax revenue could be lost per year if all libraries were closed.

The economic value of the Library services that help Philadelphians develop or enhance their own businesses totals $3.8 million for FY10, comprised of:$2.9 million in business development online and database activities$819,285 in business development book-reading & lending$55,385 in business development programming(p.5)