{"id":200,"date":"2010-03-12T17:08:22","date_gmt":"2010-03-12T21:08:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.acohen.com\/blog\/?p=200"},"modified":"2026-03-05T14:40:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T18:40:44","slug":"the-value-of-public-libraries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.acohen.com\/blog\/the-value-of-public-libraries\/","title":{"rendered":"The value of public libraries"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The value of public library service is often overlooked by the community.  During the development of a capital campaign to improve the library building, it is very important to communicate the value of the library services. <\/p>\n<p>One way to generate knowledge about library services and their cost advantages is to use a calculator.  The Chelmsford Library developed one online for you to use.  Go to: Library Use Value Calculator<\/p>\n<p>You may use this calculator for survey&#8217;s and open discussions with the public.  We use this information to learn more about the unique needs of the local culture and the value of the &#8220;library as place.&#8221;  You may use the calculator above to communicate your value and to build an appreciation for all of the services the library provides to your community. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The value of public library service is often overlooked by the community. During the development of a capital campaign to improve the library building, it is very important to communicate&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5,4],"tags":[66,65,62,68,67,63,64],"class_list":["post-200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-library-planning-research","category-library-issues","category-work","tag-library-as-place","tag-library-service-calculator","tag-library-value","tag-planning-for-the-future","tag-public-library-needs-assessment","tag-public-library-planning","tag-public-library-service"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>value of public libraries<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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