COST‐BENEFIT ANALYSIS: More Than Just Dollars and Cents

In our era of scarcity, there is renewed interest in weighing benefits against costs. Today, library managers must do more than set goals; they must also consider the cost of attaining the goals. The methodology for this kind of assessment has been around for decades. Most depend on certain common elements: how to analyze and measure costs, benefits, and discount factors, and how to apply decision rules.