United States Environmental Office of Environmental EPA 260-R-04-001
Protection Agency Information (2843T) January 2004
Business Case for
Information Services:
EPA's Regional Libraries
and Centers
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Prepared by Stratus Consulting
Contract No: GS-10F-0299K
EPA Order No: 3W-1518-NBLX
for
The EPA National Library Network
U.S. EPA Office of Environmental Information
Office of Information Analysis and Access
Information Access Division
Information Services Branch, Mail code 2843T
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
Project Lead: Richard Huffine
(202)566-0703
huffine.richard@epa.gov
(202) 566-0669 fax
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Table of Contents
I. Executive Summary 1
II. Background 1
III. Addressing New Challenges 2
IV. Drivers for Change 2
V. Methodology for the Business Case 3
VI. Key Assumptions and Metrics 4
VII. Summary of Key Activities and Services 5
VII. 1 Research and Interpretation of Results 5
Table 1. Value of Research and Interpretation of Results 6
VII.2 Distribution of Information Resources 7
Table 2. Value of Distribution of Information Resources 8
VII.3 Selection and Acquisition for Collections 8
VII.4 Access to In-House and Remote Collections 10
VII.5 Management and Administration 11
VIII. Integrated Analysis of Costs and Benefits 12
Table 3. Integrated Analysis of Costs and Benefits 13
IX. Moving Ahead: Toward Optimization 14
X. Actions for Implementation 16
Exhibit 1. Annual Cost Summary 17
Exhibit 2. National Library Network FY2003 Statistical Summary 18
Exhibit 3. Hypothetical Distribution of Service and Activity 19
XI. Bibliography 20
XII. Referenced Sources 21
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I. Executive Summary
The Environmental Protection Agency's network of regional libraries and environmental center
libraries provides substantial value to the Agency, its professional staff, stakeholders, and the
public. Calculated conservatively, the benefit-to-cost ratio for EPA library services ranges
between 2:1 and 5.7:1. Libraries and librarians are nonetheless a significant investment, costing
the Agency roughly $6.2 million annually to operate and maintain. It is an opportune time to
initiate an Agency-wide dialog on the extent and nature of library services at the Environmental
Protection Agency.
II. Background
Established in 1971, the Environmental Protection Agency's Library Network is composed of 28
libraries serving 10 regional offices, 2 research centers, 12 research laboratories, and 4 separate
libraries in Headquarters. The libraries differ in function, scope of collections, extent of services,
and organizational reporting structure. Each library also differs with respect to the amount of
support they offer for public access; their use of new technologies; and their level of budgetary
support. Each library supports a collection of materials that have been chosen over time. These
collections contain a wide range of information resources on environmental protection and
management; basic sciences such as biology and chemistry; applied sciences such as engineering
and toxicology; environmental law and regulation; and issues unique to specific regions or
ecologies.
The combined EPA collections include 504,000 books and reports, 3,500 journal titles, 25,000
maps, and 3,600,000 information objects on microfilm. The Online Library System (OLS)
provides the shared catalog for all these resources and is available to both EPA staff and the
public via the Internet. The EPA Web site, with over 60,000 PDF files indexed, provides
searchable access to full text, on-line EPA documents. In addition, for EPA staff, the "Desktop
Library" provides an electronic collection of over 430 mostly commercial information resources.
It can be accessed by all Agency staff directly from their desktop computers via the Intranet. The
Desktop Library (http://intranet.epa.gov/desktop) includes the full text of scientific and policy
journals, reports, newspapers, reference works, and databases.
Separately, each library is charged with providing services to EPA staff and external users with
access to their location. However, each library within the Network has always leveraged the
capabilities of the other libraries to assist patrons with information not available at their own
locations. This cooperation allows the Agency to extend the value of its materials and services to
create an "institutional value" greater than the sum of its parts.
Finally, some libraries contain materials that the Agency must make publicly available under law.
Two examples are the Regional National Priorities List Public Dockets and the risk management
plans for chemical facilities.
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III. Addressing New Challenges
Due to a number of factors, EPA's libraries are under pressure to transform the way they support
their diverse customers. Technological changes, changes in the marketplace for commercial
information resources, and budget uncertainties contribute to a dynamic and challenging business
environment. The impact of how the Agency, its staff, and the public use the Internet as well as
how service providers have addressed pricing models for online databases and other resources
cannot be overstated. Every year EPA libraries must re-assess the value of their services and the
costs of providing those services and determine which pricing models and vendors can best fit
their mission priorities and patron preferences. At the same time, budgets have been
unpredictable, but generally tight. These factors have resulted in growing disparities in the
resources available to EPA staff based on their physical location and organizational commitment
to information access.
This analysis reviews the costs and value of services currently being provided through the
Agency's network of libraries and library centers. The goal is to structure and evaluate library
resources and services in a manner that will enable internal stakeholders to conduct an informed
dialog concerning whether and how to re-configure the library network to address challenges and
better support EPA's mission.
IV. Drivers for Change
In recent years, the need to assess and re-position library business practices has become evident.
The drivers for change that led to this review are:
Information (as distinguished from data) is an asset that EPA must manage strategically;
The Agency is shifting away from producing printed materials, yet lacks a controlled
repository of either paper or electronic EPA documents;
Physical space requirements for libraries are periodically reviewed, yet organizations
rarely consider the value of collections beyond their own need;
Budgets have become susceptible to quick and radical shifts, creating difficulty to collect
and manage information on a continuing basis;
Direct costs for libraries are increasing and cuts are often made without input from the
customer EPA organizations;
Agency organizations are purchasing information products/services on their own. Some
examples are:
The Superfund program contracts outside of EPA libraries to do searches for
potentially responsible parties;
Offices subscribe to print and online journals without coordinating purchases with
libraries or others in the Agency;
Contracts are being competed that include research support duplicative of support
services being provided by libraries; and
Web-based and other electronic information sources and search tools are
perceived to be supplanting traditional library services. The availability of
Internet search engines has caused some to question (a) the role of reference
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librarians, and (b) the value of traditional library classification systems and
controlled vocabularies.
Recognition of the drivers for change raises a number of crucial issues:
The relationship between EPA libraries and other Agency information providers such as
clearinghouses, hotlines, inter- and intranet sites, and public information centers. The
Agency has never fully addressed how the public interacts with individual units or with
the Agency as a whole; EPA libraries often act as the safety net, catching the most
frustrated members of the public trying to find information or assistance.
The relationship between print and online information resources. Questions being asked
include:
To what extent should EPA convert Agency materials, including legacy
documents, to electronic formats and therefore enhance both EPA's and the
public's utilization of that information?
Who should lead the identification, conversion, and release of materials for such
an effort?
Does the Agency have the infrastructure to support virtual libraries for staff
working in the field or from home?
The ongoing conflicting mandate for EPA's libraries to service both internal staff and the
public.
Accepting the need to adapt to changing staff and budget levels within the libraries, e.g.,
doing "more with less," are there potential funding models that maintain flexibility and
focus while creating efficiencies?
The need to support emerging mission priorities, such as the public's right-to-know,
homeland security, and real-time information provision for situational analyses.
The need to acquire specialized subject matter competence quickly in order support
rapidly evolving issues; and
The need to adopt new technologies and practices for serving customers (including virtual
reference) without either the funds or technical support to do so.
V. Methodology for the Business Case
Before EPA internal stakeholders and library customers can address issues such as those outlined
above, it is critical to characterize current library activities in terms of costs and benefits to the
Environmental Protection Agency, its professional staff, external partners and stakeholders, and
the public. This analysis was approached by means of a six-step process, outlined below:
Step 1 - EPA Library activities were classified into five core functional categories: (i)
performing research and interpreting results for patrons, (ii) distribution of information
and bibliographic resources to patrons, (iii) selection and acquisition of information
products for paper and electronic collections, (iv) access to information collections both
within and outside EPA, and (v) management and administration.1 Each of the functional
categories was described along with benefits derived to EPA through performance of
those functions.
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Step 2 - The Office of Environmental Information worked with an Agency-wide
Working Group to conduct an resource survey which included two principal aspects:
detailed breakdowns of (i) library labor and extramural costs; and (ii) activity levels and
service volume.
Step 3 - Cost and service volumes were apportioned to the appropriate functional
categories (as identified under step 1, above).2
Step 4 - A literature review was conducted to identify appropriate and tested metrics of
library performance, focusing on time-savings and knowledge value-added to EPA
research, business, and information products and decisions. Key metrics and associated
assumptions are outlined in Section VI, below.
Step 5 - For each applicable functional category, available data on costs and service
volume were combined with the metrics to develop provisional estimates of performance.
Step 6 - For each applicable functional category, available data on costs and benefits
were compared to develop a provisional benefit/cost ratio.
Step 7 - Anecdotal evidence was supplied for those activities which support the
Agency's mission but for which metrics were unavailable. For example, the Regional
Libraries provide information to support litigation; however, successful litigation does
not provide income as it does for private firms. Successful litigation does result in
benefits that cannot be assigned a dollar value. Consequently, It is difficult to subject
legal and company research to a strict cost/benefit computation. Examples of situations
in which library-provided information contributed to non-financial benefits are given.
VI. Key Assumptions and Metrics
Assessing the return on investment (ROI) for EPA libraries depends upon adequate
characterization and valuation of core library services and resources. The literature base
indicates that corporate and government libraries can achieve impressive benefit/cost ratios and
ROI when considered in terms of two primary metrics:
Value of professional time-saved. Patron surveys conducted by Baldwin, Strouse and
others find special libraries save in-house, professional patrons substantial amounts of
time through performance of various research-related activities. Librarians are found to
save professional staff as much as 16 hours "per question answered." For this analysis,
however, we have used a more conservative measure of 1 hour saved for quick reference
questions answered; and 8 hours saved per extended reference question answered. The
professional time was valued at $35/hour per EPA staff and $26/hour per external user.3
Patron surveys also suggest that librarians save professional staff approximately 1 hour
"per document delivered."
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Value-Added Per Reading. Patron surveys conducted by Griffith and King, Strouse, and
others find that discovery and provision of key documents, data, and information to
professional researchers and administrators result in significant positive value to the
organization, ranging between $600-777 "per reading."4 For this analysis, an
approximate mid-range estimate of $670 per resource supplied was utilized.
Section VII, below, outlines the core functional categories introduced in Section V, above;
describes the benefits derived to EPA through performance of each category; and combines
available data on costs and performance benefits to develop a provisional benefit/cost ratio.
VII. Summary of Key Activities and Services
EPA libraries are in the business of information science; providing unique skill sets and
resources that enable the Agency to gather, classify and organize, store, retrieve, and disseminate
information that is available physically and/or electronically. The EPA Library Network is a
network of librarians, who ensure the effective and efficient functioning of EPA's information
services; and libraries, which provide physical and cyberspace locations for storing information
and conducting research activities. The key roles and functions of the librarians and libraries are
described below.
VII. 1 Research and Interpretation of Results for Patrons
Information science is by no means a process of passive bibliographic retrieval.
It requires skilled and diplomatic communications with patrons to help them state
and clarify assumptions, topical foci, research hypotheses, and other business
objectives.
Library patrons do not always come with well-formed questions or clearly articulated requests for
specific information resources. Rather, research is frequently a joint venture between the patron
and the librarian. As the librarian helps the patron discover a variety of aspects about the
research topic, the original question gradually sharpens into the right set of questions and their
answers. Utilizing the "reference interview" process, librarians interact with patrons to translate
ambiguous and problematic requests (e.g. Do you have information on drinking water?) into
viable research topics (e.g. Our well water has had a reddish color since the last bad storm).
Specific activities included in this category include the following:
reference assistance for EPA staff and the public,
email referrals, including those from EPA web sites,
hotline support,
business information research,
scientific and legal research,
training and user support for EPA staff to use Agency resources including the Desktop
Library and other tools purchased for their direct use.
Benefits to EPA: The Environmental Protection Agency was established to protect human health
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and the environment. The development of regulations based on sound science, the enforcement
of those regulations, the cleanup of hazardous waste sites using innovative technologies, and
ongoing extensive research projects all require access to accurate, up-to-date information. The
EPA libraries provide an in-house resource to assist EPA Program Offices in the discovery and
interpretation of scientific, technological, legal, and business information. The interpretation and
discovery of quality information sources informs management decisions and litigation strategies;
promotes innovation in program and regulatory development, implementation, and enforcement;
and enables enforcement staff to access data and information.
On an annual basis, provision of this functional category accounts for slightly under $1.7 million,
or nearly one-third of the composite library services budget (see Exhibit 1). In 2003, librarians
fielded and successfully addressed 56,175 reference questions from EPA staff and the public; of
that total, approximately 60 percent, or 33,499 questions were posed by internal staff (see Exhibit
2). Librarians also conducted 90,116 database searches for EPA staff and the public. For the
purposes of valuation, database searches are assumed to lead to resources supplied.
Table 1. Value of Research and Interpretation of Results for Patrons
Service
Quick reference for EPA staff
Quick reference for external
users
Extended reference for EPA
staff
Extended reference for external
users
Database searches for EPA staff
Database searches for external
users
Total
2003 Total
16,243
14,553
17,256
8,124
60,275
29,841
146,292
Hours
saved*
16,243
14,553
138,048
64,992
60,275
29,841
323,952
Cost per
hour
35.00
26.00
35.00
26.00
35.00
26.00
Total savings
$568,505
$378,378
$4,831,680
$1,689,792
$2,109,625
$775,866
$10,353,866
* - See the "Value of Professional Time Saved" assumption above.
Between answering reference questions and conducting database searches, EPA librarians are
estimated to have saved over 214,566 hours of EPA staff time, resulting in a cost-savings to the
Agency of slightly over $7.5 million. The benefit to cost ratio for provision of library reference
services within EPA is conservatively estimated to be over 4.4:1. Adding in the value of Public
Access, the ratio exceeds 6:1.
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VII.2 Distribution of Information Resources
Library customers often identify needed resources that are physically housed at
other libraries both within and without the Agency or are available electronically.
Likewise, the result of reference questions is often an identified document or
citation that must be obtained for the user. Librarians, therefore, are responsible
for obtaining needed documents (reports, articles, patents, standards, etc.) for in-
house staff. Conversely, they also provide materials, often EPA documents, to
outside users directly or through standard library procedures such as interlibrary
loan.
Librarians manage and facilitate access to physical and electronic information products within
and among EPA facilities as well as other libraries and vendors that provide resources for EPA
staff. These interactions with other libraries are often referred to as interlibrary loan and include
working with academic and research institutions, private companies, and law firms. Each EPA
library also coordinates access to commercial vendors that can provide necessary reports,
documents, and other resources as funds are available. Products such as Dun & Bradstreet
company reports, full-text journal articles, and legislative case law are all acquired in this fashion
by EPA libraries with the funds to purchase them.
Librarians are also responsible for ensuring that the collections they own in their location are
securely preserved, kept up-to-date, and maintained. Preservation and access to physical
materials is becoming pressured by issues of how large the library is in the facility. At the same
time, most legacy EPA materials are only in paper format. Likewise, the preservation of digital
material is challenging in cases where information products do not reside on EPA servers and/or
where the library does not own the information collections. Another complication is that current
EPA documents and research reports are posted and deleted from the EPA web site at the
discretion of the webmaster and web site manager. When paper copies do not exist, the
information is often lost.
Specific activities under this service area include the following:
interlibrary loan and document delivery processing,
cataloging and assigning metadata,
journal and periodical routing,
photocopying and downloading information,
shelving and inventory,
serials check-in and management and inventory control, and
classifying and indexing electronic resources.
Benefits to EPA: It is expensive for EPA organizations to acquire information that they may
need for regulatory development, enforcement actions, and research activities. However, not
obtaining quality information, whether from commercial vendors or from Agency resources,
could be exponentially more costly-in terms of dollars, environmental and public health impacts,
and Agency credibility. EPA libraries compile and acquire bibliographic materials, databases, or
other information products in order for the Agency to know what it needs to know as soon as the
need is identified. The organization, upkeep, and maintenance of these collections is therefore
paramount to their effective utilization. Librarians quickly access collected data and
bibliographic resources (both physical and electronic) and employ effective mechanisms to
provide these resources to internal patrons. These same activities also assist outside users in
identifying and locating EPA-produced information.
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As illustrated in Exhibit 1, the distribution and maintenance of materials accounts for almost $1.5
million, or nearly one-quarter of the annual composite budget. As illustrated in Exhibit 2, in
2003, EPA libraries processed and delivered 99,197 documents and other information resources
to patrons, including 65,825 to EPA staff.
Table 2. Value of Distribution of Information Resources
Service
Resources supplied to EPA
staff
Resources supplied to
external users
Total
2003 Total
65,825
33,372
99,197
Hours
saved*
65,825
33,372
99,197
Cost per
hour
35.00
26.00
Total value
$2,303,875
$867,672
$3,171,547
* - As outlined in Section IV, above, patron surveys conducted in government library systems
analogous to the EPA libraries suggest that typical distribution services (processing inter-library
loans, downloading articles, providing publications from collections) save users approximately 1
hour per information resource.5
Considering only EPA patrons, the benefit to cost ratio for distribution and maintenance of EPA
library resources is 1.5:1. Considering the value of these service to external users increased the
value to 2.1:1.
VII.3 Selection and Acquisition for Collections
EPA librarians conduct all tasks related to selecting and purchasing the
documents and other information products for their library collections, whether
within its physical collections, electronically accessible products, or resources
made available via consortial or other arrangements.
The subject specialities required to fulfill the Agency's mission are wide and varying. Because it
is impossible to acquire, store and organize the information pertaining to all of EPA's mission
foci, the professional judgment of librarians is key in selecting those resources most critical to
the users served by each library. For example, Regional libraries frequently develop and
maintain extensive collections of localized data and literature. The RTP Library has an extensive
collection of air quality information. Also, selection and pricing of periodicals, journals,
monographs, and other bibliographic materials has grown very complex in the electronic era,
requiring knowledge of the general marketplace as well as of individual products. Negotiating
licenses for electronic products is particularly challenging, requiring good negotiating skills in
addition to in-depth product knowledge.
Specific activities included in this category include the following:
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specialized collection development,
selection of journals, books, and databases,
procurement of journals, books, and databases, and
procurement of licensing agreements for access to electronic and digital information
resources.
Benefits to EPA: Many of EPA's mission activities entail the need for rapid and/or repeated
access to relatively specialized collections of data, scientific information and methods, and legal
and legislative information. Similarly, it is necessary for EPA scientists, economists, attorneys,
financial analysts, and other professional staff to stay abreast of cutting-edge developments and
state-of-the-discipline information. The establishment of these collections enable EPA
professionals to save time during the research phase of their activities, to conduct rapid
turnaround research projects in response to evolving events, and to complete research projects
that might have been stymied were unique and appropriate references not immediately available.
The process of selecting and acquiring information resources - including books, journals, legal
subscriptions and databases - costs EPA slightly over $1.8 million per year, or approximately 29
percent of the composite budget (see Exhibit 1). The vast majority of these costs is in journal
and legal subscriptions, nearly $1.3 million per year. Access to the most recent materials in
scientific research is often critical for research activities and for field activities requiring the use
of "new and innovative technologies." Lack of current legal information can easily lead to failed
litigation. However, journal and legal service costs have skyrocketed over the last 20 years well
above inflationwith some titles costing tens of thousands of dollars annuallywhile budgets
have often decreased.
The value of EPA's collections lies not only in addressing the immediate needs of its users (those
identified in the statistics collected by each library), but also in addressing their future needs. If
the Agency were to cease its maintenance and collection of the 504,000 books and reports and
3,500 journal subscriptions, the costs of acquiring those materials on demand would be
prohibitive to all but a few locations. Likewise, the loss of time in tracking materials down and
having them sent to a location would reverse the value identified previously regarding resources
supplied.
While we are aware of no metrics establishing either the value of a collection or the value-added
to an organization's mission through establishment of a targeted collection, it is clear that
establishment and maintenance of a collection is a necessary condition for the fulfillment of
EPA's knowledge-intensive mission. For example, an October, 2003, a decision by an
Administrative Law Judge reduced a proposed fine by 80% and criticized the Agency for not
providing sufficient financial information on the company involved.
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VII.4 Access to In-House and Remote Collections
The EPA libraries offer their patrons an enormous collection of documents,
journals, books, and other information products, which are available at
individual library facilities, through interlibrary loan, or electronically.
As indicated previously, the combined EPA libraries' collection includes over 504,000 books and
reports, 3,500 journals, 25,000 maps, over 3,600,000 microfiche, and numerous other documents.
The collection is also specialized in terms of both topics and media, including videos, databases,
specific types of government documents (e.g., environmental impact statements), foreign
language collections, and documents requiring special care use (e.g., Risk Management Plans).
In addition, EPA librarians facilitate access to related EPA resources, including numerous
technical and specialized hotlines, clearing houses, and Web sites, many of which contain or
distribute documents and other information products.
In recent years, libraries (including those within EPA) have come to expand the traditional view
and definition of collections: the concept no longer equates with physical objects that the library
owns. As noted in a recent report from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Collections
and Access Issues Task Force, the boundaries have expanded far beyond the print collections on
site or the electronic files mounted locally to include electronic materials licensed or managed by
the library and materials available through consortia. Increasingly, libraries are taking
responsibility for born-digital collections (such as geospatial or numeric data sets as well as
event- or incident-driven Web sites) and developing tools for their management and use. In a
growing number of cases, a library's collection also includes resources that reside outside the
domain of the library but for which the library takes some responsibility for managing and
servicing.6
EPA librarians must exercise a comprehensive understanding of this widespread and diverse
information milieu, and be able to develop effective search and retrieval strategies to match
information requests with appropriate information media and repositories.
Specific activities in this functional category include the following:
training and outreach,
web site maintenance, and
other.
Benefits to EPA: The information that EPA staff require to meet the mission of the Agency is
extensive and complex. EPA librarians are familiar with the content of EPA collections, both in-
house and remote. This results in significant time savings. It also results in a substantial
increase in the quality of information resources presented for consideration in any given research
application. Not only do trained, experienced librarians find resources more quickly, what they
find is typically higher quality and/or more topically appropriate.
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Activities and resources that enable and facilitate access to EPA's extensive and dispersed
collection of information resources cost $568,791 per year, accounting for 9 percent of the
composite budget (see Exhibit 1). This service category is vital to the efficient fulfillment of
other duties, especially the provision of creative and intelligent reference services and rapid
delivery of documents and other information resources. There are, however, no available metrics
to quantify the value of this service category.
VII.5 Management and Administration
An obvious, but important, function of libraries is to provide the physical location
for their patrons to conduct their information searches and research activities.
EPA library facilities provide their users with immediate access to professional information
services and to clean, well-lit, quiet spaces in which to conduct research. The facilities also
provide computers and other equipment to enable patrons (including the public) to locate and use
electronic resources and to store EPA's inventory (both active and archival) of books, journals,
and other bibliographic materials. These spaces are administered and maintained primarily by
library contract staff.
Specific activities in this functional category include the following:
coordination of EPA libraries via the EPA Library Network
management of physical facilities,
OCA Reading Room support,1
contract and task order management, and
staff development.
Benefits to EPA: As with any human and capital resource being utilized in a dynamic
environment, competent management is essential to the library's ongoing role within EPA. Each
library's management team develops and executes procurement strategies, develops and
evaluates technical RFPs, and manages contracts and task orders to assure the smooth operation
of the Agency's far-flung physical and electronic inventory of information resources. The EPA
Library Network provides a voluntary, informal structure to coordinate activities, share resources
and expertise and recommend changes to policies and procedures.
The management and administration of facilities, resources, staff, and contracts accounts for 11
percent, or $665,429 of the composite budget. The literature review conducted for this analysis
uncovered no appropriate performance metrics for library system management. For this reason,
no benefits estimates or benefit/cost ratio was calculated.
Off-Site Consequence Analysis (OCA) information is collected under section 11 2(r)(7) of the Clean Air
Act as part of the Risk Management Program. Individuals living within the region addressed by a particular OCA
are allowed to review, but not copy or remove, such materials from federal reading rooms at 50 locations nation-
wide, including EPA libraries.
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VIII. Integrated Analysis of Costs and Benefits
In section VII, above, five functional categories were defined and assessed in terms of their
individual costs and benefits. However, none of these services occur in isolation from the others.
The fundamental purpose of the EPA libraries is to provide timely business- and mission-
relevant information to EPA professional staff, such information is a necessary condition for the
fulfillment of the Agency's mission. Functional categories 3,4, and 5 provide indirect support to
EPA through administration and facilitation of functional categories 1 (reference) and 2
(distribution), which in turn provide direct support to Agency staff through time-saving
assistance in the identification and provision of current, accurate and relevant information. If this
were all that should be considered, the EPA libraries would have a benefit to cost ratio of almost
2.2:1. However, this is not all that should be considered.
In addition to the time-savings that EPA library services provide for the Agency's (and
stakeholder) professional staff, EPA libraries and librarians also provide substantial value-added
to Agency missions. In a classic 1993 study, Jose-Marie Griffith and Donald King estimated that
professionals derive an average of $670 per reading of pertinent technical materials. Griffith and
King's estimate attaches a monetary value to the axiom that information, in and of itself, is a
valuable organizational resource.7
As discussed in section V, EPA librarians delivered a combined total of 99,197 information
products in 2003. While there clearly is no basis to assume that all resources delivered via EPA
librarians are actually "read," it is a safe assumption that some of these resources are read and
utilized by Agency staff and/or the external parties. If, for example, it is assumed that only 1
percent of delivered documents are read, than the value-added benefit stands at approximately
$664 thousand per year, resulting in a conservative benefit to cost ratio of almost 2.3:1. If it is
assumed that one-third of delivered resources are read, than the value-added would be slightly
under $22 million per year, with an associated benefit to cost ratio of over 5.7:1.
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Table 3. Integrated Analysis of Costs and Benefits
Service
Quick reference for EPA staff
Quick reference for external
users
Extended reference for EPA
staff
Extended reference for external
users
Resources supplied to EPA
staff
Resources supplied to external
users
Database searches for EPA staff
Database searches for external
users
Total Cost Savings
Total Costs (see Exhibit 1)*
2003 Total
16,243
14,553
17,256
8,124
65,825
33,372
60,275
29,841
Hours
saved*
16,243
14,553
138,048
64,992
65,825
33,372
60,275
29,841
Cost per
hour
35.00
26.00
35.00
26.00
35.00
26.00
35.00
26.00
Total savings
$568,505
$378,378
$4,831,680
$1,689,792
$2,303,875
$867,672
$2,109,625
$775,866
$13,525,393
($6,195,436)
Aggregate Cost/Benefit Ratio: 2.2 : 1
Service
Value- Added for Resources
Delivered
2003 Total
99,195
Assume
33% Read
33,065
Value
670.00
Total
Value-Added
$22,153,550
Aggregate Cost/Benefit Ratio: 5.7 : 1
* Note: These costs do not include expenses incurred by supporting organizations that are not
separately managed by the library coordinators. No estimates were given for rent, utilities, or
telecommunications costs.
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IX. Moving Ahead: Toward the Optimization of EPA's Library System
The Environmental Protection Agency's libraries are clearly a source of substantial value to the
Agency, its stakeholders, and the public. Even employing the most conservative of assumptions,
benefit-to-cost ratios for core library services indicate that libraries "give back" far more than
they take in terms of Agency resources. EPA libraries are nonetheless a significant capital and
operational investment, costing the Agency roughly $6.2 million annually to operate and
maintain. It is therefore essential to assure that each component of the library system is
configured and operated in a manner that is as efficient and effective as possible; and that
Agency resources are well adapted to EPA's mission parameters, operating environment, and
technological milieu. A critical aspect of this task will be to avoid popular myths and hyperbola
concerning the operation of contemporary libraries (see section XI), while nevertheless
addressing real issues, opportunities, constraints, and barriers in an effort to assure that individual
libraries are well-configured in terms of their place and role within the system as a whole.
In Section VII, above, the role of EPA's libraries was characterized in terms of five functional
categories. This categorization scheme was adopted in order to individually address significant
cost categories incurred in each EPA library. The five functional categories were thus articulated
in terms of an inward focus on library activities. However, from the perspective of library users,
it makes sense to adopt a simpler model and to assess the structure of how we provide
information services in terms of four basic categories:
1. Each Regional and Center Library provides some level of basic onsite support to their
host organization. EPA staff and external users in each location receive varying amounts
of onsite support such as the development of unique collections, operation of Public
Information Centers, and training in the use of electronic resources.
Benefits to Regions: services/collections customized to unique needs/priorities of each Region;
Easy and timely access to research assistance; Contact point for coordination with Network, Etc.
2. Librarians also currently provide specialized research support for EPA professional staff.
Partnerships could be formed among the libraries that allow these services to be
performed by dedicated staff at designated locations. These locations would be outfitted
with a broad array of print and electronic information tools for providing better service
more efficiently. For example, establishing one or two business research "centers of
excellence" would relieve each Region of purchasing expensive, and often duplicative,
business research services.
Benefits to Regions: access to services requiring specialized expertise
3. Each library currently maintains its own collection of EPA and commercial information
resources, both physical and electronic. The Regions and Centers could partner to create
repositories to share their collections and reduce duplication while meeting the needs of
their users.
Benefits to Regions: Lower maintenance costs and decreased storage space; Assurance that
materials will be accessible permanently
4. Libraries act as service centers with library staff operating hotlines, dockets, and other
information-related support. Regions and Centers could partner to provide these services
Business Case for Information Services Page 14 of 21
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for one another. For example, East and West Coast libraries could work together to
expand hours for telephone inquiries. Partnering could also facilitate the development of
new services including virtual reference and publications management. It could also
increase onsite support for functions including interlibrary loan processing and cataloging
of local collections.
Benefits to Regions: More efficient services leading to lower costs.
Although EPA professional staff utilize and rely upon all of these support areas, it remains an
open question how these services should be deployed and distributed among the various units of
the Agency's network of libraries. Numerous questions can be posed, including the following:
Do individual EPA libraries need to own everything, or could collections or parts of
collections be more centralized?
Is it necessary for all libraries to support all business functions, and if not, which libraries
should support which business functions?
Do all EPA libraries need the same array and level of site support services, and if not,
how should site support features be apportioned among the various units?
Is it necessary that all EPA libraries act as service centers for their respective host unit,
and if so, is there a minimum or core level of services that must be available at all sites?
Exhibit 3, below, portrays a hypothetical portfolio of services distributed among the various units
of a multi-site library system. As suggested by Exhibit 3, the balance of services and resources
used and provided by such a system of libraries can vary from unit-to-unit. Services and
resources such as an efficient document delivery process, networked electronic information
sources, downloadable Web-based journals and documents, distance learning and training, email
reference, and virtual reference make it possible for individual library units to meet patron needs
without necessarily providing all needed services in-house.
Similar to the hypothetical model outlined in Exhibit 3, EPA's libraries are both resource and
service users and resource and service providers. Not surprisingly, some EPA libraries have
more extensive collections than others, others have more sophisticated and comprehensive
programs and resources to support scientific and legal research, while still others have adopted
innovative approaches to public outreach and other aspects of site support. Effective
management of EPA's libraries is thus best approached as an exercise in portfolio optimization.
In other words, it is in the interest of all EPA information service users to optimize and leverage
available resources at a shared, or Agency level, rather than unit-by-unit or program-by-program.
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X. Actions for Implementation
It is important that the National Library Network work with librarians, Program Offices, and
Assistant Regional Administrators (ARAs) to facilitate an Agency-wide dialog addressing the
future of information services at EPA. To adequately inform such a dialog, it would be
important for the Agency to take the following actions:
Survey EPA information users at each location to characterize the needs of end users;
Inventory EPA information resources, including books, journal subscriptions and
licenses, databases, electronic information applications and other licensed information as
well as service contracts dealing with library and related information services;
Characterize and assess organizational, business, or technological factors that either
enable or constrain the shared, co-funded services and resources recommended in this
report;
Develop models of cooperative services that address the individual needs of participating
locations while leveraging available resources. These models would include, among
other approaches, a proposal to implement a Working Capital Fund activity for
information services; and
Review the existing policy framework for information services and develop revisions to
address the roles and responsibilities of Regional Offices, Centers, Laboratories, and
Program Offices in providing information services to staff.
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Exhibit 1. Annual Cost Summary
Cost Categories
Interpretation and discovery of information for patrons
Reference desk time
E-mail referral
Hotline support
Program support research
Scientific research
Business information research
Legal research
Other research activities
Distribution and maintenance of information resources
Interlibrary loan
Document delivery
Publications distribution
Cataloging
Serials check-in and management
Shelving/inventory/repair/maintenance
Other
Selection and acquisition for collections
Journals
Books
Databases (online, CD, etc.)
Access to in-house and remote collections
Program web site maintenance
Library web site maintenance
Current awareness (training and education)
Management and administration
Contract management
Library network support
Task order management
Management of physical facilities and equipment (OCA support)
Staff development and training
Special Projects
GRAND TOTAL
Total Annual
Costs
$1,668,052
$813,781
$83,455
$94,923
$113,160
$231,265
$138,328
$100,453
$92,687
$1,488,799
$418,586
$46,174
$66,960
$374,863
$150,191
$180,721
$251,284
$1,804,385
$1,298,303
$264,219
$241,863
$568,791
$133,713
$94,649
$340,429
$665,429
$85,936
$59,859
$205,468
$61,067
$59,542
$193,562
$6,195,436
Percentage
Annual Costs
27.0%
13.0%
1.0%
2.0%
2.0%
4.0%
2.0%
2.0%
1.0%
24.0%
7.0%
1.0%
1.0%
6.0%
2.0%
3.0%
4.0%
29.0%
21.0%
4.0%
4.0%
9.0%
2.0%
2.0%
5.0%
11.0%
1.0%
1.0%
3.0%
1.0%
1.0%
3.0%
100%
Business Case for Information Services
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Exhibit 2. National Library Network FY2003 Statistical Summary
Service
Reference
Quick Reference from
EPA Staff
Quick Reference from
external users
Extended questions from
EPA staff
Extended questions from
external users
Database Searching
Database searches for
EPA staff
Database searches for
external users
Resources Supplied
Resources supplied to
EPA staff
Resources supplied to
external users
Outreach
People reached via
outreach
Web pages retrieved
(Internet/Intranet)
Internet materials
developed or improved
Cataloging
Original Descriptions
Edit/modifications
Web pages
Reg
1
2,276
1,209
892
649
2,049
1,531
794
567
11,865
316,925
26
653
4
Reg
2*
Reg
3**
899
2,911
700
227
4,970
1,565
893
3,641
13,020
66,146
350
542
Reg
4
783
2,328
1,045
820
8,420
5,755
5,180
3,571
1,389
28,880
229
480
919
Reg
5
1,101
1,622
886
646
10,165
1,991
5,097
721
63,993
23,283
572
83
298
16
Reg
6
914
63
2,848
880
2,380
187
1,155
257
1,144
4,250
17
1,611
485
2
Reg
7
608
136
488
189
2,170
627
5,684
4,835
6,437
25,300
58
212
3,333
52
Reg
8
262
418
4,615
31
3,640
644
3,026
1,132
12,495
26,831
39
203
1,445
Reg
9
1,307
3,221
1,185
3,027
6,949
13,058
5,880
7,312
20,752
33,817
2,284
1,297
Reg
10
1,619
589
451
172
4,533
1,935
1,779
1,097
17,448
3,655
268
123
1,749
RTP +
1,783
405
441
274
4,819
0
12,697
8,102
7,607
56,448
228
326
3,559
0
Cinci
1,063
127
2,291
109
6,376
791
11,088
847
202
11,728
92
119
454
HQ++
3,629
1,524
1,415
1,100
3,804
1,757
12,552
1,288
83,612
624,838
16,049
2,619
3,833
39
Ml Libs
16,243
14,553
17,256
8,124
60,275
29,841
65,825
33,372
239,96'
1,222,1
02
20,213
6,319
18,025
115
Subtotals
56,175
90,116
99,197
1,482,279
24,45!
Business Case for Information Services
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Exhibits. Hypothetical Distribution of Service and Activity Among Units
of a Multi-Library System
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit3
Unit 4
Repository
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Business Area Research
: :
, , I _ . .... I Business
Legal : Scientific : _, , . ,
a ! ! Related
i
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:
:
:
1 !
:
:
:
,i .1
|l
.
1
i
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
1rJ=
1
1
rJ=
1
Site Support
t
t
t
t
Service Center
y
u~u
y
u~u
u
u~u
u
gtty
t
= High level of activity
U"U = Moderate level of activity
ฎJP t u---u = Limited activity
Business Case for Information Services
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XI. Bibliography
Association of Research Libraries (2002) "Collections and access for the 21st century scholar:
Changing roles of research libraries. A report from the ARL collections and access issues task force.
ARL Bimonthly Report 225, December 2002 http://arl.org/newsltr/225/main.html
Baldwin, Jerry (2003) "What does MN/DOT accomplish?" TRUpdate 9 - Spring 2003
Buckland, Michael (1992) Redesigning Library Services: A Manifesto. Chicago: American Library
Association; Internet edition 1997 at http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Literature/Library/Redesigning/html
Davenport, Thomas H. (1999) "Librarians and the I in IT" Informant January 1999. Available at
http://www.mcan. ga. ca/hvpermail/FRBCD/att-0126/D AVENP 1 .HTM
Environmental Law Institute (2000) Libraries as a Community Resource for Environmental
Information. An Environmental Law Institute Report on a September 18-29, 2000 Online Dialogue.
www.eli.org
Griffiths, Jose-Marie and Donald W. King (1993) Special Libraries: Increasing the Information
Edge. Washington, DC: Special Libraries Association
Horn, Judy (2001) The Future is Now: Reference Service for the Electronic Era ACRL Tenth
National Conference, March 15-18, Denver, Colorado.
Keller, Michael A., Victoria A. Reich, and Andrew C. Herkovic (2003) "What is a library anymore,
anyway?" First Monday 8(5) http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue8 5/keller/index.html
Portugal, Frank H. 2000 Valuing Information Intangibles: Measuring the Bottom Line Contribution
of Librarians and Information Professionals. Washington, DC: Special Libraries Association.
Saracevic, Tefko and Paul B. Kantor (1997) "Studying the value of library information services. Part
I. Establishing a theoretical framework" Journal of the American Society for Information Science
48(6).
Strouse, Roger (2003) "Demonstrating value and return on investment: The ongoing imperative."
Information Outlook March 2003: 15-19.
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XII. Referenced Sources
1. This taxonomy is adapted from Keller, M.A., V.A. Reich, and A.C. Herkovic. "What is a
library anymore, anyway?" First Monday 8(5), May 2003.
2. Data and spreadsheets underlying this analysis were provided by the Federal Manager of the
EPA National Library Network, Mr. Richard Huffine (Huffine.Richard@epa.gov)
3. Shirey, John. Replacing EPA's Web Search Engines: Business Case. U.S. EPA, Office of
Environmental Information, March, 2003. Page, 5.
4. Strouse, Roger. "Demonstrating Value and Return on Investment: The Ongoing Imperative."
Information Outlook7(3), March 2003. PagelV.
5. Baldwin, Jerry. "Mn/DOT Library Accomplishments" TRUpdate 9, Spring 2003. Article can
be accessed at http ://www. transportconnect .net/trap date/article2 main .html.
6. ARL Bimonthly Report 25, December 2002, Collections & Access for the 21st Century
Scholar: Changing Roles of Research Libraries: A Report from the ARL Collections and Access
Issues Task Force.
1. Griffiths, Jose-Marie and Donald W. King. Special Libraries: Increasing the Information
Edge. 1993. Washington, DC: Special Libraries Association. Pages 1-3.
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