Demonstrating the financial impact of clinical libraries: a systematic review

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this review is to evaluate the tools used to measure the financial value of libraries in a clinical setting. Methods: Searches were carried out on ten databases for the years 2003-2013, with a final search before completion to identify any recent papers. Results: Eleven papers met the final inclusion criteria. There was no evidence of a single 'best practice', and many metrics used to measure financial impact of clinical libraries were developed on an ad hoc basis locally. The most common measures of financial impact were value of time saved, value of resource collection against cost of alternative sources, cost avoidance and revenue generated through assistance on grant submissions. Few papers provided an insight into the longer term impact on the library service resulting from submitting return on investment (ROI) or other financial impact statements. • It is worth pursuing the concept of value of information studies in the context of clinical libraries.• Health library associations should collaborate on the development of common measurement standards, which reflect accounting practices in the wider clinical setting.• Health librarians should commit to adopting and implementing these standards in their own organisation.• It is important that health librarians identify and include feedback and outcomes in studies analysing the financial impact of their clinical library service.

Untitled

“…Measures of medical librarian value include time saved, value of resource collection, cost avoidance, and revenue generated from accepted grants [10]. One study found that utilizing librarianprovided services that directly related to patient care decreased the length of stay [11].…”

Becoming business critical: Knowledge for Healthcare

“…This issue is one of two halves, one focused on quantifying aspects of service provision 1,2 and the other focused on information seeking behaviour 3,4 …”

“…Madden et al . 's1 systematic review seeks to evaluate the tools used to explicitly measure the financial impact of clinical libraries. They note that the tools used are typically developed locally, are implicit in nature and lack robustness seeking to measure financial impact in terms of time saved and cost avoidance.…”

Transforming your service: the right evidence at the right time and place

“…The review article by Madden et al . is timely as it focuses on demonstrating the financial value of libraries in a clinical setting.…”

“…The review article by Madden et al 2 is timely as it focuses on demonstrating the financial value of libraries in a clinical setting. The authors conducted a systematic review to evaluate tools that are used to measure financial impact of clinical libraries.…”