The economic value of library services for children: The case
of the Czech public libraries

J 2019

The economic value of library services for children: The case of the Czech public libraries

STEJSKAL, Jan, Petr HÁJEK and Tomáš ŘEHÁK

Basic information

Original name

The economic value of library services for children: The case of the Czech public libraries

Name in Czech

Ekonomická hodnota knihovních služeb pro děti - případová studie českých veřejných knihhoven

Authors

STEJSKAL, Jan (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution), Petr HÁJEK (203 Czech Republic) and Tomáš ŘEHÁK (203 Czech Republic)

Edition

LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCE RESEARCH, NEW YORK, ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC, 2019, 0740-8188

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Článek v odborném periodiku

Field of Study

50803 Information science

Country of publisher

United States of America

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

URL

Impact factor

Impact factor: 1.485

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14560/19:00110482

Organization unit

Faculty of Economics and Administration

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2019.100963

UT WoS

000478712000004

Keywords (in Czech)

dětské čtenářství; veřejné knihovny; hodnota

Keywords in English

child readership; public library; value

Abstract

V originále

Public support of library services must be targeted towards children because these services play a key role in their development. However, no prior research has investigated the value of public library services for children. Specifically, earlier studies evaluated the value of public libraries as a whole, without considering library services for different stakeholders. The fact that children are not autonomous economic agents is another problem to address. These barriers can be overcome by using the contingent valuation method with parents/caregivers as the subjects queried and children used as the objects in this study. Thus, the economic value of library services for children can be obtained to support managerial decisions on services specifically designed for children. More precisely, this study is unique in that it develops a contingent valuation methodology for estimating the value of children's library services based on adults' willingness to allocate a proportion of municipal budgets. Both users and non-users were surveyed to verify the proposed methodology empirically. The results show that the perceived effectiveness (ratio between perceived benefits and costs) of children's library services is 11.2 (11.2 units of benefits for each unit invested) in Czech public libraries compared with 4.3 for a library as a whole. This finding confirms the essential role of children's library services, implying that public libraries should offer a broader selection of children's books and other services. The study also shows that the value of children's library services depends on the age, education and economic structure of the adults queried. In addition, their satisfaction with library services is another important determinant, indicating that public libraries can influence the perceived benefits of children's library services.

Citovat

STEJSKAL, Jan, Petr HÁJEK and Tomáš ŘEHÁK. The economic value of library services for children: The case of the Czech public libraries. LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCE RESEARCH. NEW YORK: ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC, 2019, vol. 41, No 3, p. 1-7. ISSN 0740-8188. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2019.100963.

@article{1550198,
   author = {Stejskal, Jan and Hájek, Petr and Řehák, Tomáš},
   article_location = {NEW YORK},
   article_number = {3},
   doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2019.100963},
   keywords = {child readership; public library; value},
   language = {eng},
   issn = {0740-8188},
   journal = {LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCE RESEARCH},
   title = {The economic value of library services for children: The case of the Czech public libraries},
   url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0740818819300428?via%3Dihub},
   volume = {41},
   year = {2019}
}

TY  - JOUR
ID  - 1550198
AU  - Stejskal, Jan - Hájek, Petr - Řehák, Tomáš
PY  - 2019
TI  - The economic value of library services for children: The case of the Czech public libraries
JF  - LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCE RESEARCH
VL  - 41
IS  - 3
SP  - 1-7
EP  - 1-7
PB  - ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
SN  - 07408188
KW  - child readership
KW  - public library
KW  - value
UR  - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0740818819300428?via%3Dihub
L2  - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0740818819300428?via%3Dihub
N2  - Public support of library services must be targeted towards children because these services play a key role in their development. However, no prior research has investigated the value of public library services for children. Specifically, earlier studies evaluated the value of public libraries as a whole, without considering library services for different stakeholders. The fact that children are not autonomous economic agents is another problem to address. These barriers can be overcome by using the contingent valuation method with parents/caregivers as the subjects queried and children used as the objects in this study. Thus, the economic value of library services for children can be obtained to support managerial decisions on services specifically designed for children. More precisely, this study is unique in that it develops a contingent valuation methodology for estimating the value of children's library services based on adults' willingness to allocate a proportion of municipal budgets. Both users and non-users were surveyed to verify the proposed methodology empirically. The results show that the perceived effectiveness (ratio between perceived benefits and costs) of children's library services is 11.2 (11.2 units of benefits for each unit invested) in Czech public libraries compared with 4.3 for a library as a whole. This finding confirms the essential role of children's library services, implying that public libraries should offer a broader selection of children's books and other services. The study also shows that the value of children's library services depends on the age, education and economic structure of the adults queried. In addition, their satisfaction with library services is another important determinant, indicating that public libraries can influence the perceived benefits of children's library services.
ER  -

STEJSKAL, Jan, Petr HÁJEK and Tomáš ŘEHÁK. The economic value of library services for children: The case of the Czech public libraries. \textit{LIBRARY \&{} INFORMATION SCIENCE RESEARCH}. NEW YORK: ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC, 2019, vol.~41, No~3, p.~1-7. ISSN~0740-8188. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2019.100963.

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