What is a library worth? No, really ...

"A good library is a palace where the lofty spirits of all nations and generations meet."— Samuel Niger (1883-1956)

"The medicine chest of the soul."—Inscription over the door of the Library at Thebes.

"A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life."— Henry Ward Beecher

The amazing library of Trinity College, Dublin.

Well, duh! But what economic benefit do libraries provide Wisconsin residents? (Yes, it is a sad fact of the times in which we live that everything must have a dollars and cents price tag. Get over it.)

Soon, we may well know. NorthStar Economics, Inc., a Madison-based consulting firm, will conduct a study, funded through the federal Library Services and Technology Act, focusing on "the economic benefits that libraries bring to a global, knowledge-based economy. Public libraries increasingly have to compete with other municipal services for funding, and they need to be better able to articulate their contribution and economic impact in their respective communities."

"It is our hope to illuminate the important role of public libraries as significant economic drivers in the New Economy," said Dr. David J. Ward, NorthStar president.

Part of NorthStar's report will be a detailed look at the economic impact of three libraries: Madison, Milwaukee and Racine. Jessica MacPhail, director of the Racine Public Library, said she looks forward "to learning what our residents value about public libraries. Other states have done economic impact studies and have learned that libraries provide a good return on investment."

"Public libraries are a tremendous asset to their communities" said State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster. "We anticipate that this study will confirm and quantify the important contributions that public libraries make to lifelong learning and quality of life for Wisconsin residents."

NorthStar will announce its findings at the Wisconsin Public Library Association annual conference in May.

That is too late for this year's budget cycle. The Racine County budget recently increased funding for Racine's library by 1.5%, an amount which reduces the percentage of cost reimbursement from 91% to 87%.

Racine's city budget is to be finalized Monday; the city is expected to fund the library at the state mandated level, which is the average of the three previous years.

UPDATE, 11/19: The amount in the budget for 2008 library funding is $2,057,588, some $5,000 LESS than this year. (Did heating costs go down? Electricity? Wages?) Because the library budget was cut by $32,000 in 2005, the current number is indeed the three-year average, thus continuing the pain ad infinitum. There's got to be a better formula.

(More wonderful quotes about libraries can be found HERE.