State Library of New South Wales
New research shows public libraries across New South Wales deliver significant social and economic value to communities, generating benefits that far exceed the cost of providing services.
SGS Economics and Planning partnered with Prescience Research and the State Library of New South Wales to undertake detailed research into the value generated by both the State Library and the network of local government libraries across NSW, informing the Balancing the Books: The value of the State Library of NSW and NSW public libraries report launched on 20 March 2026.
The report shows how public libraries are used across the state, the services they provide, and the benefits communities gain from them.
As the NSW State Librarian Caroline Butler-Bowdon summarises:
“We asked the people of NSW what libraries mean to them, if they visit their local public library, if they visit the State Library, and if their visits are in person or online. This report reveals how highly NSW residents value libraries. In monetary terms, respondents placed a value of $57.10 per adult, per year, for State Library services and the Library’s heritage value. For frequent users, this value increased to $90 per year. For public libraries, the estimated community value was placed at $86.60 per adult, per year.
The study also included cost benefit analysis, which showed the community benefits of NSW public library services were valued at nearly two times the cost of their provision. For the State Library, every $1 invested generates $4.24 in community benefits.”
Our research spanned across public libraries across NSW and included:
- Workshops to identify key library services and user groups
- Interviews with library users to understand usage patterns, and the benefits they gain
- Online surveys of NSW residents to explore service use and wellbeing impacts
- Choice modelling to understand residents’ willingness to pay for library services and estimate monetary value
- Cost benefit analysis comparing the benefits gained by residents with library operating costs, to estimate net annual benefit generated by public libraries.
This works builds on similar research by SGS for Victoria’s public libraries, which likewise demonstrated the significant community, health and wellbeing benefits libraries provide. Read more here.
