Supporters Say New Oakley Library Can Offer 5-to-8 Times Return on Investment

OAKLEY, (CA) – As a grassroots citizens’ committee, we initially performed an evaluation to determine if the citizens of Oakley wanted a new downtown library.  The answer was a resounding “yes”, so our committee organized more to develop a plan to present it to the voters so everyone could have a voice in what we do.

What we learned in our study and anyone who uses the current library location knows first-hand that the current facility at Freedom High School campus no longer meets the needs of Oakley residents and business owners. The five year “temporary” tenancy has stretched to seventeen years. At 3,000 square feet, it is one of the smallest libraries in the County.  Parking is terrible, especially when school is in session and sharing a room with the high school library just isn’t working.

A robust, modern library provides numerous benefits to its’ community and studies show that this is true across the country . . . and yes, people still do use the library.  There is literally no demographic of our citizenry who wouldn’t benefit from the addition of the new Oakley Library and Community Learning Center in our downtown area.

Modern community libraries are not simply book warehouses.  The value a community library brings to its citizens is significant and long-reaching.  A new Library and Community Learning Center will make resources available such as expanded story times and programs for young children, after school STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics) programing, coding classes for youth, computer classes for seniors, homework help programs, financial literacy workshops, small business oriented workshops, meeting rooms for veterans and business people, programs for English learners, cultural events, and more.

The process of continuing self-education is important to any community.  Libraries are a fantastic resource for this.  The amount of reference materials available, through books, periodicals and online services, is literally second-to-none.  Even Google has its limitations, but your library can offer not only Google, but countless other resources. And let’s remember not everyone in Oakley has access to the Internet. Even those with handheld devices are limited to what can be done. Ever try to apply for a job, create business invoices or file your taxes on an iPhone? And how many homes have a computer for every child?

Most of the above are considered by some to be “soft” reasons for wanting and justifying a new library and community learning center.  So, we embarked on a detailed analysis to determine if there were also some “hard” reasons to offset the cost ($7.75 per month which equates to $93 per year per parcel) and the answer is “yes”.  Measure K calls for a 30 year, $12 million bond to build the new library and it states that it will end in 30 years with no escalation each year.  While these costs are an estimate of what a new library and community learning  center would cost based on standard estimating methods (at this stage of the project), it will be built and maintained based on available funds that are financed based on economic conditions at the time of borrowing the money with independent oversite. When completed, the library will actually be operated by the county library system and not the city. The money collected will also provide for additional operating hours and services above and beyond what the county funds. The city is just providing the land and will get it built and then will oversee the maintenance and upkeep of the building in the future.

We researched and calculated the ROI for a community library using methods and a range of data from other communities who have recently evaluated the benefits of libraries.  San Francisco undertook a study in September 2015 which projected an overall ROI of between $5.19 and $9.11 for every dollar spent. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh estimated that they have generated $6.14 per $1 of budget provided; Florida public libraries showed that approximately $6.40 of the total value per $1 of the budget was created; South Carolina State Library economic Impact was $4.48 per $1 spent; and the Phoenix Public Library results showed a value of $10 or greater per $1 spent.

Whether your purpose is to be educated or entertained, a library has a limitless supply of resources that can be checked out and used, including magazines, newspapers, audiobooks, music CD’s and DVD’s of movies and television shows, and eBooks are all available for free. In 2015 alone, 89,640 items were checked out from our small library at the high school.

We all know that the City of Oakley is growing.  The 2000 U.S. Census showed a total population of 25,619, which grew to 35,432 in 2010 and it is estimated that the current population is a little over 41,000 (an increase of 2.6% per year over the last 6 years).  With the expansion of Highway 4 and construction of the Antioch Hillcrest BART, growth in Oakley is expected to continue to grow in the coming years.  Will we look at our future needs now and give our city a positive image and resource for present and future citizens?  A new library could also attract a strong base of involved, community-focused new citizens to our community.

If we use the population growth of 2.6% over the next 30 years (but cap it at 70,000 people based on current estimates), a modest 6% annual increase in library activity, and an immediate doubling in library activity when the new building is completed in 2017, our research shows we should be able to expect a return on investment of $13,870 per parcel. That translates to $4.97 for every $1.00 invested or about a “5 times Return On Investment”.

The above studies and research also shows that homes and properties near a strong community library are considered more desirable, and thus more valuable.  Some studies have suggested that this impact may be as much as 15%, or $45,000 on a $300,000 home in close proximity to the library.  However, for this study, we are assuming a more modest 10% increase for homes within half a mile from the site of the new library and a gradual lessening of the effect the further away one gets. Based on other studies, there is no doubt that the addition of a new, modern library would greatly enhance our property values over time and the value of our community at large. When factoring in a decreasing impact on property values based on distance from the library, calculations show that this could add as much as an additional $3.39 on average for every dollar invested just for property values, for a total of $8.36 for every dollar invested or about “8 times Return on Investment”.

One could say, yes our taxes are already too high, but our analysis indicates that you would get that money back whether you use the new library or not, and of course much more benefit if you use it.

In summary, this translates to $4.97 to $8.36 for every $1.00 invested or a return of approximately 5 to 8 times the amount of investment!

For more information on the methods used, our calculations, references, etc., please visit www.newoakleylibrary.org  and select the “ROI Tab”.