We’ve been working on an analysis of the costs and value of the PASCAL programs funded using our state funds.  As a first step, we’ve examined the costs and value of our extremely cost-effective electronic resources program.  As a result we’ve updated some of our online information. We’ve updated our main FAQ, “PASCAL’s Statewide Electronic Library for Higher Education,” with the following information:

Since its launch in 2004, PASCAL’s statewide electronic resource licensing program has brought in $7 of value for every $1 spent. This adds up! Over the past four fiscal years, $4.6 million invested has licensed 33 databases with FULL TEXT access to millions of articles in more than 12,000 journals and newspapers, as well as thousands of other research publications. This would have cost $33 million had all academic institutions licensed these materials independently. Similarly, by making it easier and cheaper to borrow books, the statewide catalog and delivery system generates a dramatic increase in use at a fraction of current transaction costs.

We’ve also added a new FAQ, entitled “Overview of PASCAL/SEL Electronic Resource Licensing Program,” which can be found on our new “More about Us” page on the website. Some of the findings in this FAQ include,

• In FY 2007-8, every dollar spend is returning $8.67 in value.
• For many institutions, this represents a massive increase in their effective serials collections.
• Statewide Electronic Library resources benefit students at all types of higher education institutions.

A direct link to the new FAQ is:

  http://pascalsc.org/content/view/154/46/

We hope to add additional insights into the value of PASCAL Delivers and the utilization of these resources soon.

Please take a look at the FAQ and spread the word!