RK: May 2008 Archives

I recently updated the service population estimates for OWLS member libraries.  These latest estimates are based on 2007 circulation figures and 2007 DOA population estimates.  The Estimating Service Population (L4L) page explains the methodologies used to calculate the different service population numbers.

The 2007 Outagamie County and Waupaca County circulation matrices are now posted on the OWLS Statistics page.  Each county's circulation matrix shows the circulation by every library in the county to every jurisdiction in the county that doesn't operate a library.  A county's circulation matrix provides a detailed breakdown of the circulation for which the county reimburses its municipal libraries, i.e., it's the circulation used for the annual budget request.  If you're curious about how much each of your surrounding towns use your library, you'll want to take a look.

At their May meeting, the OWLS Board approved 2009 county budget requests.  The budget requests were developed in accordance with the methodology contained in the respective county plans.  There is more information about county planning and funding in the L4L section of OWLSweb.info.  The specifics of the requests can be found on the 2009 County Budgets page.  This page will be updated regularly until the 2009 county budgets are adopted by Outagamie County and Waupaca County this Fall.

Have you heard that Wisconsin public libraries return $4.06 for each dollar of taxpayer investment or that the state's public libraries contribute over three-quarters of a billion dollars annually to the state's economy?

These findings are among those included in The Economic Contribution of Wisconsin Public Libraries to the Economy of Wisconsin, which was released on May 1st.  The study was conducted by Madison-based NorthStar Economics, Inc.  The Executive Summary and the entire study are available online.

A news release template (MS Word) is available for local libraries to customize and distribute to area media.  Also available is a PDF-format slide presentation presented by David Ward, President of NorthStar Economics as the keynote address to the Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries on May 1, 2008.