Libraries make money

[Theoden]

Some of you may already know this strategy but i just wanted to say it. I have tried this strategy myself and it worked fine.

Lets say you dont got currency but you have literature and youre in economic problems. Then building a library and lowering the science level to the same science income as before the library was built you actually earn money.

For those of you that did not understand this. Lets say we got a city with 10 commerce. The science rate is 80% so we have 8 science and 2 taxes. Then we build a library and science raises to 12 at a cost of 1 gpt in upkeep. Then if we lower the science rate to 60% we will still be gathering 9 science (About the same as before the library was built) and tax income will be 4 minus 1 for upkeep. So after the library we actually earn more money per turn. The same goes for universities and research labs (Though by the time you get them you usually dont got any money problems)

You might ask "Why should we use this strategy. We build marketplace if we want money"

The answer is: If you dont got currency that is a way of getting money, or if you already have built a marketplace and still need more money.

So my conclusion is that libraries can earn you money

 

[ongwin]

Thanks for the tip, I didn't really think of it that way. Now that you've mentioned it, I'd be more willing to build science boosters. Thanks!

 

[Krayzeenbk]

This is fairly ineffective because at the levels of income typical when you don't have currency (just because it's early in the game, not because you don't have marketplaces), the library costs more than the income it allows you to make from decreasing the science rate. Especially since you'd only want to decrease your science rate if you were doing 40-turn research, in which case you can't really decrease it any further, and the library is just a waste of shields and time from the science/taxes perspective.

OTOH I have used the marketplaces allow faster research strategy for years, I always build marketplaces before libraries once I have currency because the higher income allows you to increase the tech rate and still stay positive. Then the libraries come in for a bit more of a boost

 

[Theoden]

Perhaps you dont want to decrease science rate but you can be forced to if your economy is bad.

 

[Krayzeenbk]

Well, yes, but marketplaces often end up being the first priority anyways (if you have at least 3 luxuries and/or are not scientific, etc).

 

[Khshayarsha]

Libraries can boost your revenue in another way: through culture expansion of borders. If your coastal city is stuck at size 3 population because it's built on foodless ground, a culture expansion brings in more foody sea tiles, thus allowing the pop to grow. More citizens --> more tiles being worked, more revenue. Sometimes culture expansion is the only way to get that fish. It is the only way you'll ever be able to go whaling. Of course, a Library is only one of the possible means of culture expansion. If you're Scientific, it makes sense to build a Library first, just because of the discount, regardless of tech advance or budgetary considerations, just to expand your borders. I hate leaving my borders unexpanded.

 

[Krayzeenbk]

On the higher levels, a temple will boost your revenue better than a library in the way you described above (even if you are scientific) because it will also allow you to put more of your citizens to work. The same goes for coliseums, cathedrals. And naturally, the marketplaces discussed at length above, if you have more than 2 luxuries.