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Public Value : Additional Examples
Examples of Public Value Narratives for Public Libraries
A public value narrative is a combination of a story of how a specific library service and how it improved the life of one of its patrons plus one statistic on the number of others using this same service plus a public value statement that links the benefits to the patrons to the indirect benefits to non-patrons.
In addition to Curt’s Story, the following examples of public value narratives are shared to help you develop your own public value narratives for your library. While each of the stories is unique, several relate to helping children learn to read and love learning and a couple relates to using reference services. Hence, sometimes the “statistic” used is identical and sometimes the public value statements are almost the same. In a few cases, I used national statistics rather than local ones but the later is always better when available.
However, these are just illustrations of how to develop a public value narrative so after you pick your local stories, add the statistics that seem most relevant to your case and word the public value statement in a way that is comfortable for you.
All the Books are Checked Out!
Story: One afternoon after school, a mother and her three sons came into the library. The oldest son, Johnny, who is in sixth grade, went to the library’s online catalog to look for resources for a school project. I heard him tell his mother, “They only have two books on fast food and they’re both checked and won’t be back in time!” His mother said, “Well, is everyone in the class doing the same thing?” When he said they were, she replied, “Well I guess you shouldn’t have waited this long to get the books then, should you?” I intervened, knowing that if Johnny had searched the catalog only using the keywords “fast food” he indeed would have come up with only two relevant resources. But I also knew that we have plenty of materials in the library to help him research the topic. I asked Johnny exactly what his assignment was, and showed him that we indeed had numerous books on the shelf on topics such as the history of food, food production, and nutrition that would help him with his project. We were able to come up with five different resources for him to use, including an entire book on the history of the hog dog. While he had been explaining his project to his mother and me, he had nearly been in tears. Once he had the resources, he relaxed and started actually having fun, reading passages aloud to his mother, and finding different facts and other pieces of information he could use for his report. When he left, he smiled at me and thanked me for my help (as did his mother.) Source of the story: R. Davis, Children’s Librarian, Maine
Statistic: This story reflects only one of over 278,000 reference transactions answered in this small town of 9,000 during 2013. Source: annual report from Maine State Library.
Note: The Maine State Library defines references transactions as “information consultations in which library staff recommend, interpret, evaluate, and/or use information resources to help others to meet particular information needs” and not an instruction for locating staff, library users, or physical features within the library.
Public Value Statement: Reference services help people like Johnny and his mother more easily find the information and resources which they need, making the library valuable for them. As Johnny goes forward, he is much more likely to use the library for his next project. While small steps, this moves him along in his education, as well as in his confidence in being able to do his schoolwork successfully. Indirectly, the successful education of our youth benefits us all by reducing the costs of social safety nets and strengthening our economy.
Forrest Gump: My First Book
Story: “As a school librarian with 33 years of experience there are many memories that will be with me forever. This one is at the top of my list.
Years ago Charlie, a high school student, would stroll into the library with his imitation of Forrest Gump. One day it would be “Mama says, life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.” Or it was “Stupid is as stupid does.” Or “Run Forrest Run.” This went on for a few days until one day I stopped him and said, “You know, Charlie, you could use some new material. Did you know that Forrest Gump is a book?” I walked him over to the shelf and placed the book in his hands.
Many weeks later Charlie strolled into the library to return the book. He found me shelving books and quietly said, “That’s the first book I ever read. Do you got any more?” Of course, I did.
It wasn’t until this young man was about to graduate did I realize that I’d made a difference in his life. He had left me a card thanking me for “making him read.” Source: Jodi Breau, Maine School Librarian. (“Charlie” is a pseudonym to provide privacy but the story is very real.)
Statistic: While this is a unique story, librarians see thousands of children during their careers and even if only a small percentage are “Forrest Gump” stories, this adds up to a huge impact.
Public Value Statement: What would Charlie’s future have been if he hadn’t started to read because of a librarian giving him “Forrest Gump?” Indirectly this benefits all the rest of us because Charlie is now a productive member of society.
Library Search Solves Medication Side Effects
Story: “Mrs. Smith (a pseudonym) came into the consumer health library wanting information on the side effects of a certain drug that was being given to her daughter who was currently being treated in a hospital psychiatric ward. Her daughter was showing signs of dystonia which are sudden movements due to involuntary muscle contractions. She was wondering if the new medication had anything to do with this. I searched the medical literature on this drug and found that indeed, side effects of the medication could be dystonia and if the medication was taken for a long period, the side effects could become permanent. I gave Mrs. Smith copies of a couple of journal articles to show the prescribing physician. She was very grateful for the information. A few weeks later Mrs. Smith returned to tell me that based on the information I provided, he changed her daughter’s medication and the side effects ceased. Her daughter was doing better and now didn’t have the additional worry of long-term side effects of treatment.” Source: D. A. Clark, Health Sciences Librarian, ME
Statistic: While this is a very unique situation, the assistance of this nature is one of the major services of libraries. The 2013 Pew Research Center found that librarian assistance was rated as important by 76% of Americans, second only to books and media at 80%.” (Source: “10 facts about Americans and public libraries,” Pew Research Center website )
Public Value Statement: There’s no question that Mrs. Smith and her daughter benefits from this help from the librarian. And as taxpayers, the rest of us also benefited. First, finding the correct solution reduced the costs to the medical system, which has small ripple benefits for us all. Second, and more importantly, having this capacity available is likely to be a direct benefit to some of us in the future.
La Mesa Public Library Changed My Life
Story: “I was 6 years old when my mom took me to the La Mesa public library for the first time. I remembered being overwhelmed by the sheer number of books. I was an avid reader, but my folks were on a limited budget and I just couldn’t believe I had access to all of those titles. As I got older and my mom had to take a new job, I spent most afternoons after school at the library. The librarians all knew I was essentially hanging out because I had no other place to go until my mom picked me up at 5:00 p.m. They never complained and indeed they started suggesting titles to read and outlining sequences of books that spoke directly to my interests. It was clear that they were really challenging me to read beyond my grade level and push myself, reflected in my desire to learn more and engage more in school. I look back and realize that my entire desire to learn and drive to engage in learning was stimulated at that small table in the La Mesa Public Library. I often wonder if those patient and dedicated librarians ever really understood what powerful impacts they had on my life.” — Tim D.
Source: La Mesa Public Library Changed My Life (GALE, A Cengage Company website)
Statistic: “A 2013 Pew Research Center survey found that having a “quiet, safe place” was the third most important library service for Americans.” (Source: “10 facts about Americans and public libraries,” Pew Research Center website)
Public Value Statement: “Tim and his family clearly benefited from this in two ways, educational and a quiet, safe place for Tim as his mother worked. Indirectly, we all benefit because the hours from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. are the time when teenagers without adult supervision are most likely to get into trouble, with some of the long-term costs of these problems falling on the taxpayer. And we also benefit indirectly because Tim advanced his educational interests and capacities.”
The Library: Gateway to America
Story: “Growing up in Poland, my mother loved books and was a voracious reader. Unlike other girls, she didn’t like playing with dolls and other toys. If you gave her a book, she was happy as a clam.
“When she came to the U.S. after marrying my father, she didn’t speak a word of English. The Westchester Library System had several books in Polish at its branch in Yonkers, New York, but they weren’t enough to satisfy her.
“Seeing all the books the library contained made her determined to learn English quickly so she could read anything and everything she wanted from those shelves. She wanted to have full access to the library and all America had to offer. It took her just three months to learn English and to be able to read any book in the library. Through reading novels and other literary genres, she was able to learn about American culture and life….” — Eileen S.
Source: The Library: Gateway to America (GALE, A Cengage Company website)
Statistic: “While 97 percent of Americans and 99 percent of immigrants believe it is important for immigrants to learn English, only about half speak it well. However, only 1/3 of Americans know a second language.” Source: Gallup Polls article: “Most in U.S. Say It’s Essential That Immigrants Learn English”.
Public Value Statement: “Obviously, Eileen’s Mom and family benefited from her learning English and about American culture. While a richly diverse culture and multiple languages are part of the USA’s strength, we all benefit as immigrants learn English and our culture. With English, they can secure better-paying jobs, reducing safety net requirements. With English, the cost of providing government services decreases and the cross-cultural exchanges and enrichment increases.”
The Best Library
Story: “I had lived in Palm Beach County several years before my little brother came to live with me full-time. I’d been to the Downtown West Palm Beach Library hundreds of times and never stopped on the 3rd floor until I knew my little brother was coming down there to live with me. I went to the 3rd floor in search of material on how to raise a good kid. One of the staff, who actually doesn’t work there anymore, helped me by suggesting parenting materials that did help me so much. I began to consider that library to be like a second home to me and my brother. When I needed a break, we’d walk there. We only lived a 15-minute walk away. He could play around on the computers, read, play games, be around different types of kids, etc. … And I could relax, take a break … breathe. Fast forward a couple of years. I’d been having these kid stories on my mind for a while. One day, I asked one of our favorite librarians to pull up all the books on a certain subject. She did and I read it. There was only one. Some months later, I started actually writing the stories. Those stories turned into a kids’ book series and my first book has a release date of October 28, 2014. Without the help of this library and these librarians … My life would’ve been much more stressful and I may not be a published author with a new kids book able to be pre-ordered right now!” — Natora N.
Source: GALE, a Cengage Company website
Statistic: The 2013 Pew Research Center found that librarian assistance was rated as important by 76% of Americans, second only to books and media at 80%. Public libraries provided services to “small business owners and employees 2.8 million times every month.”(Source: “10 facts about Americans and public libraries,” Pew Research Center website and also the article “How Public Libraries Are a Boon to Small Business,” American Libraries website)
Public Value Statement: “Natora’s story reflects both the reference services of libraries and Natora became one of those small businesses. This helps to strengthen our economy which indirectly benefits taxpayers as well.”
Planet of the Apes Made Me a Librarian
Story: “As a young man, a boy really, I LOVED the original Planet of the Apes movie. One Saturday afternoon, I was watching it for the umpteenth time and for some reason this time, I did not want it to end. It was that day, that maleficent fall almost snowy day I became a credit reader. While reading the closing credits, I made a discovery — I discovered that the film was based on a book, by Pierre Boulle. I immediately jumped up and ran throughout the house in search of my father. I found him in the kitchen. The next room over from which I had originally started my paternal hunt. With an outrageous sense of urgency, I yelled, ‘Dad we have to go to the mall.’ He withdrew his head from the refrigerator and while slowly turning to face me he closed the fridge door. Once we were face to face, he casually tossed the bag o’ turkey he had retrieved on the kitchen table and said, ‘Why?’
“I became apoplectic … and yet managed to calm myself enough to say, ‘MY MOVIE, it’s based on a book and I want to read it!’ …
“After a moment of what I can only assume was significant borderline religious contemplation he said, ‘Why don’t we go to the library, they’ll have it, they have everything ….’” — Terry M.
Source: Planet of the Apes Made Me a Librarian (GALE, A Cengage Company website)
Statistic: “In 2011 there were just under 9,000 public libraries in the US and collectively they held almost 950 million books. So Terry’s Dad was right, libraries do have everything.” Source: Swan, ET. al. (2014). Public Libraries in the United States Survey: Fiscal Year 2011 (PDF). Institute of Museum and Library Services. Washington, DC.
Public Value Statement: “Public libraries are used most heavily by parents with very young children and then declines with age. Yet, many citizens who use the library less still support strong libraries because they know they, or their very young grandchildren, are likely to need it someday.” Note: This is a type of public value is called “option value.”
Saving My Butt in Seattle
Story: “I decided to move out West to Seattle for an adventure when I was in my early 30s. So, I decided to pack up my entire apartment and stuff it all in a 15-foot Ryder truck and travel through the daunting, but beautiful landscapes of Montana, the Badlands, northern Idaho, and eastern Washington State. I arrived without a job, but enough money to survive and get a new apartment. The economy in Seattle was strong, and for some reason, probably because I had uprooted myself over 2,000 miles away from the only state I have ever called home (Michigan), I went through many jobs. And, I couldn’t afford a computer. So, I would trot over, several times a week, to the West Seattle Public Library to search and apply for jobs, and to check my email. Without the library’s free web access, I wouldn’t have been able to make it for five years in this new land. I found jobs as an administrative assistant, a clerk for a local union, and a job as a barista at the Alki bakery ….” — Janet C.
Source: Saving My Butt in Seattle (GALE, A Cengage Company website)
Statistic: “Fifty-one percent of Americans in a 2013 Pew Research Center poll listed “help finding, applying for a job” as important to themselves or their family. While ranked nine of the services considered, this demonstrates the importance of this service to someone like Janet.” (Source: “10 facts about Americans and public libraries,” Pew Research Center website )
Public Value Statement: “As Janet earns more, she obviously is better off. But so are taxpayers because the odds that taxpayers will need to help her out diminish. Also, she may be able to avoid health care insurance so that the rest of us don’t have to pick up her health care costs because she has to use the emergency room. In fact, she even probably is helping to fund social security for us retirees.”
“After a moment of what I can only assume was significant borderline religious contemplation he said, ‘Why don’t we go to the library, they’ll have it, they have everything ….’” — Terry M.
Source: Planet of the Apes Made Me a Librarian (GALE, A Cengage Company website)
Statistic: “In 2011 there were just under 9,000 public libraries in the US and collectively they held almost 950 million books. So Terry’s Dad was right, libraries do have everything.” Source: Swan, ET. al. (2014). Public Libraries in the United States Survey: Fiscal Year 2011 (PDF). Institute of Museum and Library Services. Washington, DC.
Public Value Statement: “Public libraries are used most heavily by parents with very young children and then declines with age. Yet, many citizens who use the library less still support strong libraries because they know they, or their very young grandchildren, are likely to need it someday.” Note: This is a type of public value is called “option value.”
