Academic libraries are key contributors to the instructional and research missions of their parent institutions, but often struggle to demonstrate specifically what they do and how that affects institutional outcomes. High-impact educational practices are one area where libraries make a difference, but where explicit connections between activities and outcomes are not always articulated. Faculty and graduate student research is another area where libraries’ contribution makes logical sense, but specific relationships are not necessarily drawn. Libraries may place different emphasis on these two areas, effectively choosing different business strategies, to support their institutions’ missions. Two national surveys collect data about library expenditures, staffing, services, and use of resources. This study aims to explore the extent to which a library’s business strategy might be visible through patterns in these national data sets. What can the data we already have tell us about differences between libraries and how those differences affect library services and use? To what extent can library use data predict an institution’s external research dollars? By using a variety of statistical techniques, including structural equation modeling, MANCOVA, and multiple regression, the researcher explores these questions. The study also explores ways in which current data falls short in being able to connect library activities with high-impact educational practices and faculty and graduate research productivity, and proposes new ideas for measuring library activities such that they could be connected more clearly with institutional outcomes.