Library Value Calculator
Library Value Calculator

This form will help you calculate the value you get from your library use each month. Enter the number of times you do each item in the form per month.

Input Your
Monthly Use		 Library Services Value of
Services

(e.g. searching Consumer Reports)

This is the amount of money you save each month by using the library instead of purchasing these items. To see how the library arrived at the values in the form, click here.

We'd love to hear from you! Send us an email at askalibrarian@ci.corvallis.or.us and tell us what you think about the value you get from the library.

This table explains how the library arrived at the costs it uses in the Library Value Calculator.

Library Service Value Value Based On
Books borrowed $27.00 List price for a hardcover
Childrens books borrowed $20.00 List price
Magazine issues borrowed $5.00 Average newsstand price
Newspapers read $1.00 Newsstand price for The Oregonian
Online resource sessions $25.00 e.g. learning a language with Mango Languages or searching Consumer Reports
Music CDs borrowed $10.00 Price to download an album from iTunes
Audiobooks downloaded $7.50 Average price for an audiobook on audible.com
E-books downloaded $12.99 Average price of an e-book from Barnes & Noble or Amazon
DVDs borrowed $5.00 Average price to rent a DVD
Audiobooks on CD $35.00 List price
Adult programs attended $10.00 Estimate
Childrens programs attended $6.00 Estimate
Hours of computer use $12.00 Hourly price for word processing & internet access at FedEx Office
Reference questions asked $15.00 Estimate

The calculator worksheet has been adapted from original downloadable spreadsheet by the Massachusetts Library Association and then adapted for the web by Chelmsford Public Library.