University libraries increasingly are under pressure to find ways to demonstrate to their university and funders the return that the university realizes from its investment in the library. Return on investment (ROI) studies have been conducted for years in special libraries and public libraries, but both the investments and returns are different for academic libraries. A first step is to examine how the academic library's substantial investment in electronic journal collections benefits the grant writing process, which can have a direct financial return to the university.

Phase 1 of a multi-phase ROI study developed a methodology to study ROI of e-journal collections that was tested as a case study at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. For every dollar expended on the library, there was a return of four dollars. Phase 2 refines, extends, and tests this methodology in universities in 8 countries. Both Phase 1 and Phase 2, which will be described in this presentation, were supported by grants from Elsevier.