Methods of valuation as supplied by annoymous contributors to a Lis-Law email request:

Suggested calculations:
1.
250% of annual spend
400% - 600% of annual spend

2.
B(udget)x0.4 (for annual items) + Bx0.4x5 (for textbooks assuming average reprint every 5 years) +£50k (for major sets of LRs, Statutes etc) comes to a figure that is just over 300% of annual expenditure - tempting to
add on another 50% to represent the Grey material, irreplacable material and accumlated files, newscuttings etc.

3.
The library had never had any input on the figures before so I had nothing to compare so I just put together a replacement value on materials based on the following figures:

Looseleafs 1-2 vols = £400
Looseleafs  2+ vols = £600
Softback = £80
Hardback = £250
Law Reports = Depends on what it is
Journals = Annual subs x how many years worth of the particular journal 

4.

For replacement costs of law reports, this information came from Wildy's (March 2014): "You have to work with the replacement cost of the whole set, as opposed to individual volumes, as individual volume replacement is typically quite high ... assuming the work is still in print, then you give the "bought new" value rather than the "bought second-hand" value. Insurance companies require this for their underwriting. An example of some costs of law report series: All ER £15,000; All ER Reprints £3,240; Common Market Law Reports £30,371; Fleet Street Law Reports £20,245; Industrial Cases Reports £1,750; IRLR £5,950; Lloyd's Law Reports £16,000; Weekly Law Reports (all 3 vols/year) £11,880.

Other notes

• 'This does make some sense as there's a basic figure for the big sets which all libraries would have to replace - I don't see a straight line on a graph here as there must be some enonomy of scale as the library gets larger. '
• 'Grey material was impossible [to cost?]. We have a huge collection of Eastern European legislation/secondary texts and I valued it purely on the paper and files as we could if the need arose replace it via the Paris office. Some grey material, especially where it is out of print/from an awkward government department is almost irreplaceable.'
• 'Grey material is agreed a great problem even if it is irreplacable (as are some of our older textbooks - bizarre as it may seem - we work in a niche area and I was photocopying sections of legal texts published in the thirties for the Court of Appeal last year) its loss would create extra costs for the firm in terms of time, trips to external libraries, BLDSC charges etc - for example I wouldn't be looking to replace most of the periodicals collection - just a few key titles.'

• Wildy's may be able to supply prices for sets no longer available (second hand prices) and the relevant publishers will give prices for sets as if you were going buy new. The re-sale value of collections has dropped like a stone since online but if it's new for old in the policy you will still have a very high figure - a small library is £100k+ these days.
• Use Amazon for RRP of material still in stock, and second hand prices.
• "...we did have to make a spreadsheet of every single book we had and find out how much it would cost to replace each individual one....it took weeks and weeks and felt...like a colossal waste of time."

Is it worth insuring?

• "Several times over the last 7 or 8 years I have had to cost setting up a new law library to meet the SLS Standards - I get called on in a consultancy capacity by budding law schools. Of couse the amount varies according to the number of students expected to read law and the subjects selected, especially for third year options. But, the figure often comes out at between £200,000 and £300,000. Also, you will need to take into account of the LPC stock."

• Some organisations may take the view, as did the local authority in the 1980s, that the cost of the premium was unacceptable when compared with the annual cost of replacing material, and the low risk of substantial loss by fire or water in a modern building with appropriate prevention measures in place.

Return to Library management and strategy

Return to How do I