This week: Please answer question #1. After
that, please post two more times. You can choose, though, what those two
additional posts will be (answers to questions or responses to others).
In “Eight Easy Steps
to Maintain and Increase the Library Media Center Budget,” Young states, “it is
important to assess the needs of the learners and their curricula, making
certain that the content of the library media center fulfills the clientele’s
multiple and varied needs.
Q1 (required). Our test as future and current librarians
is running an effective library with the budget we’re allocated. Locate your
school’s library budget, ask someone from LIB_SCI, OR post a request on a state
or national school librarian listserv to see how much is allocated this year
for library materials. Be sure to find out how many students are enrolled in
the school. Once you examine the budget, list a dollar to student ratio on the
blog (for example $5 per student on books/materials). Then, discuss if you
think the budget can provide for an EFFECTIVE library.
Q2. Imagine: You’ve
got your budget of $3,000 for materials and
$500 for supplies/furniture for the year. Now you’re ready to
prepare a list of your expenditures. Based on the needs of your campus, who
will you collaborate with to decide on what to purchase? How will you organize/prioritize
your list (ex. think genres; basic needs; etc.)?
Q3. You’ve just used up your budget, but want to purchase other
materials that would benefit your students:
According to
Robyn Young, We need to put each of our purchases in the Library in the
prospective of "putting the needs of the learner at the forefront of the
instructional culture of the school." She gives an example of a situation
in which doing this allowed her to purchase needed materials that benefited the
students, but was not in the budget. Give an example of a purchase that would
not be or is not in your library budget, but would have a profound impact on
student achievement. How would you present this to the principal in a manner
that solidifies the student's need for this purchase in the school and
convinces him/her to allow the purchase?
Q4. In step 8, Young
recommends “Price comparisons on all items are important. Make an effort to
look for better pricing at every opportunity.” Let’s say that there is a
certain item that you really want to purchase for your library (you decide on
one), and you will need to go out and compare prices. Explain the steps you
took to find the BEST price for your materials/resources and the price
difference between them.
Sandra & Jasmine
Ill take week 12 :
ReplyDeletemy e-mail -scr021@shsu.edu
DeleteWell, I work in a school that has no library (officially) and as far as funds go, they are pretty non-existent. However, my colleague and I are working on a small leisure reading library for our students to check out books. The purpose is to engage our students in outside reading so that they can increase their literacy skills at school and not view reading as a chore. It's really nifty, we use google tablets to scan and check out/in books and the kids are really enjoying the fact that they can go somewhere and browse books we have or ask for some if we have the funds.
ReplyDeleteUsually we don't have the funds, but we'll do a go-fund me or someone within the community will donate some here and there.
I calculated how much we received and did the math to see what our budget looked like and how much we spent on pupils.
For the 2014-15 school year we got 4,800 dollars in monetary donations to use for the school library. Again, we are not official so we had to rely on donations for resources. With 602 students enrolled in our school we had $7.97 allotted per student.
$7.97
...Seven dollars...and ninety seven cents...
Not even eight dollars.
In no way shape or form is this amount enough for our student population, but my hands are tied. We have no budget from the school and have to rely on outside resources. This budget is ok for a library that's run by two teachers on the side, in fact it's great! But for it truly to be effective? No, it's not. We're not even scratching it close.
The article mentions that the average cost for a hardcover is $25. I ran the numbers on that and came up with this figure: $15,050. Fifteen thousand dollars is what I need to run an effective and purposeful library. Who has that? Because we sure don’t. Taking it further, I took the value $4,800 and divided it by 25 to see how many hardcovers we could expect to purchase: 192. 192 books for 602 kids. What would we do if they all wanted to read one? We would fail them and hinder their desire to read. I said a word out loud here in my apartment when I saw that number; "unacceptable"
I understand that budgets are important, but I guess I never truly understood how crucial they really are. $8 a student is just not enough. As future Librarians we are really going to have to zero in on our budgets and make them work miracles for our students.
I know exactly what you mean. My budget is just a little over half of that amount. My average came to $5.25 per student!!!! So that gives me 96 books. But of course there are some many other things that need to be purchased than just books.
DeleteWow James, that’s so difficult, but I’m so glad that you and your colleague are promoting the LOVE and JOY of reading. You are planting that seed!
DeleteAmy your budget is definitely not enough, but both of you are making the most with what you do have.
James, it’s great that you’re reaching out to your community for support. What about getting students to donate books they have at home? I’ve brought so many books from home that my sons read in junior high to share with my students. Our library has gone through budget cuts. Today, I talked to my students about donating novels they have enjoyed to add to my class library as an end of the year “book share” project. Still working on details for it, but I did tell them to sign their name inside and write a brief note explaining why they enjoyed it. They are really excited about it.
I asked a couple of librarians about their budget. One was allocated $8,000 for 690 students, that’s $11.59 per student, while the other was allocated $5,000 for 549 students, that’s $9.11 per student. They also mentioned that they have other expenses such as magazines, general supplies, incentives, travel, technology, and trophies. Both librarians said they have received some donated books from students and have added them to their collection.
They both stated that there is a lot of things that they would love to purchase, but their budget isn’t enough and definitely have to prioritize. One of their top priorities are the requests from students and teachers. In addition, one of them used DonorsChoose.org, an online charity that helped with the donation of a sofa and table for her library. They also said they spend their own money for some things, just like classroom teachers.
Young states, “Whether you have a large budget or no specific budget provided, preparing information regarding expenditures and student needs is extremely important.” I agree James, budgets are very crucial, and it is not until we “get our feet wet,” as librarians will we truly understand and grasp the “ins and outs” of budgets.
Sandra,
DeleteAny idea about how much those "other budgets" are? Or are you saying that they use the larger budget for those expenditures?
~jmf
JMF,
DeleteOne was allocated the $5,000 for books and magazines, the other was allocated $8,000 for books, magazines, incentives, and furniture. She got a donation and was able to use a little more for books.Their travel, general supplies and technology was another amount.
One of them (the one that got $5,000), just responded to me and said she had a $2,000 technology budget-for cameras, tablets, laptops etc., $500 for travel, and $500 for general supplies.
James - I agree that in your case (no library at all to begin with) your $7.97 doesn't even scratch the surface. Fortunately, for most of the rest of us we are starting with fairly well established libraries with all of the basics already in place. In my case we are a little lower than you at $7.40 per student and I feel as though we are holding ground with that - not moving ahead but supplying what we have been for the last few years. But soon many of our science and technical non-fiction books will be needing a major over-haul - hopefully before then we can come up with some better ideas of how to fund that! I'm so glad that you guys are trying so hard to provide your kiddos with as many resources as you can. Good luck in the future! :):)
DeleteThanks for your support all! I am currently working with some businesses in the community to get some funds for a larger collection that includes non-fiction texts as well. Now if I could get a couple of million for that building...
Deleteimmy,
DeleteHave you looked into DonorsChoose.Org??? It would be great to set up something for your school through there.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/m7ouj-ehfJs?autoplay=1&wmode=opaque
Yilsa DLS
Sorry I forgot the J in Jimmy...LOL
DeleteI never read any of the existing comments before posting, and now I feel stupid, sorry about adding DonorsChoose.Org....Sandra had already mentioned it...
DeleteYilsa
As the school librarian on my campus this school year, I have been learning about the two budgets available to the library throughout the year. I have made a few mistakes and have learned what I can do differently next year. The article “8 Steps to Maintain and Increase Library Budget” is a helpful tool on strategies to manage your budget. I have printed the article and will be sure to refer to it in the future.
ReplyDeleteMy school enrollment this year is 458 and my budget was $2400, which comes out to $5.25 per student. One of the first things I learned fast was that the money does not go far and I had to prioritize what I felt was most important at the time. When I came into the library there were about eight boxes of new books from last year that were never processed and shelved for the students. Because of this, I felt that ordering many new books was not going to be high on my list. Although recently I placed a small book order for some books that the students had been requesting throughout the school year. The library needed some much needed updating so I spent a good amount of the budget on giving the library a fresh and inviting look. I do have a budgeted list for the next school year and I will be doing more shopping around for better prices, but our district is limited to a specific list of vendors. I feel like this is my “practice” year and I’ll be more prepared for the next school year.
For first time and future librarians, this article is a helpful tool to have for future reference. In her article, Young states that "purchases made should be with student achievement in mind. The needs of the learner are identified and drive the content description for the budget." You definitely have step 1 down by prioritizing your students' requests.
DeleteAlso, consider Step 6, "Take advantage of outside funding to enhance your budget. The librarians I spoke to have book fairs, take pictures with book characters, use DonorsChoose.org, or Go-Fund- Me, as James mentioned. as additional fundraisers.
As with any job, we get better at it with practice and experience. Sounds like you're on the right track!
Amy, I'm so sorry to hear that your district has the materials budget with the "sprucing" budget. In most states, that's against the law. Any idea why?
ReplyDeleteIn 2012, this was posted for "Blue Ribbon" consideration in the state of Indiana. "The school must spend a minimum of $12 per student in general fund money on books and periodicals from the previous one-year funding cycle. This $12 minimum does not alone qualify the program for exemplary status, it is the very minimum that must be met (National average is $15.44)."
ReplyDeleteThat was in 2012! But, national averages and Indiana goals aren't what is relevant to you all... *Who can find the Texas per-student book budget expectations first?*
JMF,
DeleteI've been looking for the Texas per-student book budget expectations, but have only found articles on the overall expense per student.
According to the Dallas Morning News, "Figures compiled by the National Education Association and released Wednesday show that Texas schools are spending an average $9,559 per student in the current school year. That is well under the national average of $12,040 and ranks Texas 38th among the 50 states and District of Columbia." (March 18, 2015)
The article further stated that more than 600 school districts filed a lawsuit saying that the current funding system is unconstitutional.
As I continued to read through several articles, I found one in "governing.com" that has an interactive graph compiled by the Census Bureau. You plug in the state for the graph, and it gives you the revenue per state and spending per pupil. Below it is a table that lists the ranking of each state according to their expense per student. New York ranked number one, spending $19,076 per pupil, #2-D.C., $18, 475, and that was in 2011! Wow, we're still no where near that.
Also, a "Texas Education Agency analysis two years ago found that schools with the highest student performance ratings were generally those that spent more on their students." (Dallas Morning News, 2015)
However, according to another article I read in 247WallSt.com, it stated that the large spending on students "has not necessarily paid off in terms of high test scores. The percentage of students proficient in math in both fourth grade and eighth grade was worse than the United States as a whole." (May 2013)
In my opinion, if the monies schools are allotted are not spent wisely and intentionally-no matter the amount, in the end, it is the student will be the one getting the short end of the stick.
I've taught in another district that tried a new program almost every year, and not even give the current ones a chance to take off, or that purchase materials without asking teachers whether they would use it.
Was this money that was spent because they needed to "use their budget?" As current and former teachers you know what I'm talking about.
Just saying.
I agree...regardless of budget size, we must make sure that we are doing the very best in our power to ensure that every single penny goes to purchase resources/materials that are going to enhance and promote the learning of our students. In order to do so, like we have already learned, we must become familiar with the population of students/community that we service and plan accordingly to stock our library with materials that will be beneficial and promote an on-going love of reading.
DeleteThe population of the school where I teach right this second, is 3,809. The budget allows that the expenditure per student is $3.03. I say the budget right now because there have been times that more money has been given to our library at the end of the year. Our budget comes from three areas: the district, which makes up the bulk of the budget, the school itself (the principal allocates this), and monies generated from collecting fines and printer fees. Admittedly, $3.03/student seems like a low number, however, I don't feel like that makes our library ineffective. You name it, our library has it. The key, according to my librarians, is to be creative. For example, our library recently needed to order screens to display student artwork (our library is turned into an art gallery a few times a year). If the screens were ordered using the library budget, they would have to be ordered through a certain vendor, to the tune of $4,500. However, my librarians are members of the PTO and attend the meetings, so when the PTO asked to do something for the library, the librarians jumped on it. PTO doesn't have to go through certain vendors, so the same screens only cost $1,700. When we needed new displays for the picture books that the early childhood classes check out, rather than spend hundreds of dollars through a vendor, our librarians went to the school district workshop, who built them both for the cost of materials.
ReplyDeleteObviously, the majority of the money in our library is spent buying new books. This is not just books for pleasure reading or reference. We spend on test prep books, professional development, and IB Subject Guides. My librarians make sure that the money we have goes a long way. They prioritize.
I should point out that the monies generated from library fines and printer fees go toward buying printer ink and library activities. These activities have to benefit all students, so it is things like the TAYSHAS contest every year. It pays for the pizza party for the participants who read 15 TAYSHAS books, and things like that.
The one thing they have told me over and over again is to spend all of the library budget. The reason for this is that if you don't use all of your budget, it is more likely to get cut and sent to someone else. Another piece of advice is to always have a wish list ready. I remember this time last year, we received "extra" money, and were able to order more books for the students. There was a deadline for this money, so having a wish list ready to go made it easy to spend in the timeframe provided.
I realize I have gone off on several tangents, but I wanted to show that things can be done with a low dollar to student ratio.
Oops. The figures I gave you are the monies we get from the district, which is the same for all four high schools.
DeleteI like your way of thinking-to be creative when it comes to spending. I will definitely keep those ideas in mind. Although I have not experienced budget planning, I know that I'll be asking for advice from fellow librarians. They have also advised me the same, keep a wish list and be sure to use it or you lose it.
DeleteLove the artwork idea!
Our library hosts several things throughout the year. Right now, there is an IB art show, and soon, it will be taken over by the US History classes with their decade projects. My librarians have been incredibly warm and open with me on this journey, and everything I have learned outside my classes has been from them.
DeleteMandy,
DeleteThe first thing my librarian told me is to be prepared to spend every single penny because if you don't, you run the risk of the department cutting budgets due to the fact that the money is not being spent. She also mentioned like you stated, to have a running list of items on a Wish List so you are ready to go when the time comes to order. I love your resourceful suggestions as to how to stretch and pull resources to create an effective library.
-Yilsa DLS
As I said, they aren't my ideas, just those passed to me from my school librarians. I can't take credit for that. :)
DeleteYilsa,
DeleteI've heard the same thing from my head librarian. She is given a very generous budget and spends it all, because if she doesn't she might get a lower amount the next year. We also have a running wish list on "Titlewave" that we usually try to order at the end of each school year.
Yes, spend every penny of your budget each year. I have a lot of expenses up front with license renewals and buying books that have been released over the summer. As the year goes on, my spending goes down, and then picks up in the spring. I have to get approval for any expenditure over $200, but anything under that, I can just use a PO number for and submit the expense when the invoice comes in. It takes time to get approval (a week at least), so I make frequent small purchases.
DeleteI was discussing the same thing with co-workers the other day about how we just bought a bunch of class sets of novels for English classes because our budget still had some left, and of course if we didn't use it, it would go to waste and we'd have less money next year. I perked up and asked for a few (60) books for the library I had started with my colleague, since we were just replacing texts that we had already for newer copies. But it horrified me that the money wasn't effectively planned to be used. I made some more inquiries and found out that this is "normal" for many organizations, especially government funded ones. It got me thinking about library budgets and how important it is for us to account for, as Yilsa reminded us, every single penny for those precious resources.
DeleteFortunately, I work at a school that has gone to great lengths to make sure we have the funds necessary to operate effectively. It is so sad that budgets have been shrinking while student populations have been growing. I have $8,800 allocated in my book budget. If I count the lower school students who regularly use the library, I have 364 students. That equals $24.17 per student. If I include our PreK/Bridge students, that would make my community 444 students, which equates to $19.81. I do feel this budget allows me to expand my collection and take a few risks. Books are always going to be at the core of my budget, and let’s face it, hardback books aren’t cheap! I am always on the hunt for deals. In Houston, Scholastic has a big warehouse sale in May with books up to 80% off! I also have found a few wholesalers who provide big discounts to schools. However, I stay away from the science and technology books because they tend to be old. I love the TLA conference because I get FREE BOOKS!! If I go to Barnes and Nobles, they give me a 20% discount, plus no tax. We also use our Book Fair by having a donation table. Last year, we had over 700 books donated to our collection. Around 550 of these books were for my students. We hand picked each of these books based on the wants and needs of our community. Stretch that budget as far as it will go.
ReplyDeleteLana,
DeleteThat's awesome, you are Blessed. Our librarian also takes advantage of Scholastic's deals. I love the donation table idea during Book Fairs and the fact that you based the building of your collection on the "wants and needs" of your community. I've heard great things about the TLA conference, can't wait until I get the opportunity to attend!
Lana,
DeleteI agree with Sandra, you are truly blessed. I love you idea you build you collection based on the "wants and needs" of you community.
Lana,
DeleteWow! That is truly a blessing. I love the idea of setting up a donation table at the Book Fair. I've never seen that done at any of the campuses I have worked at and I believe that is an excellent way to get parents and students involved.
Great thoughts here, Lana. I know my head librarian gets a lot of perks for running her book fairs including Scholastic dollars and free books.
ReplyDeleteA crazy thought is the cost of a typical "hardbound" book. Even with your budget, you're barely getting a new book per kid a year.
There are ways around the typical hardbound book price too. Many books have the FollettBound option, if you order from Follett. Basically, it is a paperback book in a sturdier hard cover that isn't quite as pretty as a hardcover book. I knew of them, but didn't know that's what they were called until recently. My partners on the grant team for English I and II had to order books for our classroom, but in order to get more bang for our buck without having to resort to paperbacks, we ordered as many FollettBound as we could. Just a thought to stretch the budget. :)
DeleteMandy, I know what you mean about the FB books. They made a LOT of sense to me. But my 5th and 6th grade kids hated them, because they looked thicker than other paperbacks. Also, usually the cover is the 1990s version instead of an updated one. I couldn't get these books to circulate, so unless it was Manga or Captain Underpants, I chose paperbacks. I'd rather have a book that circulates and breaks apart THEN to have a book that lasts forever and never circulates. It totally depends on your population - and what they will buy in on.
DeleteI've never heard of the FollettBound books. I will need to check with my librarian about it - I'm sure that she knows about them. I'm interested in finding out if we have any and what reception the kids have given them! Great things to think about guys, but I agree with you Julie Marie - I'd rather have them read a book until it falls apart than to never pick it up because it is unappealing, no matter how long it will last. :):)
DeleteChristofer - I agree that I can cover the cost of one hard back book per student, but it doesn't allow my to completely go crazy buying books. I think it is important to always comparison shop. Also, create relationship with book vendors. Sometimes I meet with reps from book companies and they will give me promotional prices and special deals.
DeleteJust thought I would share that my librarian claims that she stopped ordering books from Follett because they would fall apart easily and claims that she would have to spend more money to replace those titles. She shared with me that she pays a little extra and goes with 2 companies-Bound to Stay Bound and Mackin because she claims they are better quality and they last longer.
Delete-Yilsa DLS
I haven't read many ideas on STRUCTURING your budget. If you're given 1,000 - what % of that would you give to social studies curriculum support, language arts curriculum support, math curriculum support, science curriculum support, fiction, biography, and/or graphic novels? If you have 10% of students reading below grade level, how will you put purchase dollars toward reading materials below grade level? (i.e. 50% of entire school population reading on a 2nd grade level). If you have 5% reading at a high school level, how will you put purchase dollars toward reading materials below grade level? If you have 20% of students who can't read yet - and 5% that folks say will never learn how to read, what percent of dollars will you put on wordless books?
ReplyDeleteThrow out some percents for us to chew on ;)
My school’s library has a total yearly budget of approximately $8000. With 703 students in our school, that gives us $11.38 per student. This isn’t great, but it also isn’t the worst in the world. BUT this money amount includes the money that our library receives from 2 Scholastic Book fairs that are held each year and the support that the PTO gives for AR rewards, t-shirts, and end of the year reading rewards. Removing the amounts for the rewards we are left with about $5200, equating to $7.40 per student for actual library materials. Given that the average hardcover book is $25 and paperbacks are around $9, we could purchase nearly 208 hardbacks, or 578 paperbacks OR we could spend some on e-books. The company that we are working with (AbdoDigital) for e-books offers unlimited use of the books we purchase. The “unlimited” includes allowing an unlimited number of students to “check-out” the same title at the same time. While I do not think that $7.40 makes for an adequate budget, I do believe that with the right kind of planning and stretching of all available resources our library will continue to be effective for student learning and discovery.
ReplyDeleteMichelle,
DeleteThe idea of e-books sounds like a great way to work around a small budget because it allows several students to check out the same title at the same time. I believe resources like this could help librarians really stretch a small budget.
Michelle,
DeleteThe paperback and hard back issue is something to ponder over. Due to the cost, our librarian will purchase more paperbacks to get more for her money. She also started promoting e-books through myON. An interactive digital library with over 8,000 books, for ages k-12th-including Spanish. I'm wondering if it's like AbdoDigital?
I’m not in a library at this time, but I asked my school librarian about the budget that had been allocated for library materials for this 2014-2015 school year. She informed me that the district had given our library a budget of 3703.00. Our campus serves 800 students, so that gives the library $4.63 per student. This money can only be used to purchase library books, videos, and audiobooks. If office supplies or class sets are needed the money provided by the district can’t be applied. With a small budget like this one, I can see how it might be difficult to provide incentives for students. In order to provide an effective library with such a small budget, things like fundraising and book donations will truly benefit the library. After speaking with my librarian, she reminded me to always have a Wish List on hand in case the district provides the opportunity to purchase extra materials. Most importantly, spend every cent the district provides, if not budgets can and will be cut. Despite having such a small budget for materials, there are several ways to still provide an effective library.
ReplyDeleteMelissa,
DeleteI'm not in the library either and my librarian gave me the same advice, spend everything your allotted, or it will be cut or reduced, and always have a wish list.
After reading everyone's responses I'm learning that there are many ways to stretch our budgets and still have an effective library despite our budgets.
Hi Melissa,
DeleteI am also not in a library at this time, but I feel that my librarian is very blessed with her budget after reading some of the other blog entries! i really like the idea of keeping a wish list handy in case extra funds are received through the district or even from outside donations. I agree that funds are not the only determining factor when providing an effective library. How we use those funds can greatly impact our collections.
Hello Melissa,
DeleteI'm also not in a library and my librarian told me the same thing about spending whatever is allocated to your budget as soon as possible if not it will end up being transferred to another school account. I'm learning that the lack of funds should not be an excuse for not having an effective library.
Since I am not in the library, to obtain the information to complete this blogpost, my librarian was kind enough to sit with me and was able to show me how to navigate through the NISD Library Services Webpage in order to locate the breakdown of per student budget. NISD provides schools with the following monies:
ReplyDeleteBooks=$12.72/student
AV=$2.38/student
Supplies=.95/student
Grand Total per student=$16.05
The actual total budget she received this year was the following:
Library books=$7,709.00
AV Software=$1,489.00
Library Database= $56.00
Periodicals=$428.00
Processing=$596.00
This budget was for +/- 606 students. After speaking with my librarian, I do feel that the budget that is provided by the district per student can provide for an effective library, as I see it in our school library itself. Our library is fully stocked with up to date titles, has an expanded collection of AV equipment and houses a variety of periodicals for the kiddos and adults, plus much more. She is able to order materials for staff and even gets suggestions from students, as to what new and upcoming titles, series, etc. are popular and tries her best to obtain them for our school. My librarian also shared her thoughts on the budget, and explained to me that she feels that it is a very adequate amount of money per student and that she really has no issues with it. Would she loved to have more money per student, sure, who wouldn’t, but she feels that our district, in comparison to others in the city, is really generous with their library budgets. She elaborated that throughout the years she has learned to stretch her budget and although she does tend to spend about $18.00 per book, she tends to buy from two vendors, Bound to Stay Bound and Mackin because she feels that they have quality books that last longer, thus allowing her to spend more money on new titles every year and less money on replacing titles that fall apart during the year. In addition, she also added that as librarians, we must learn to be resourceful and try to use our expertise in trying to find other means of obtaining more materials for our kiddos. She has written several grants and has been the recipient of a couple of them. I will most definitely keep this information in the back of my mind in order to be able to try and apply some of the budget savvy-ness that she possesses in my own library.
-Yilsa DLS
Yilsa,
DeleteI like the break-down of your library's budget. My library is also well stocked with current titles and has been purchasing more Spanish materials these past couple of years. This has been due to our Dual Language program.
She also has a suggestion box for students and teachers.
When the day comes for us to run our own library we will probably run across some "hit and miss" opportunities, but I will definitely KEEP everyone's advice AND contact information in mind. I know I will be needing it. What better way to learn than by getting advice from those in already the trenches.
Question #1
ReplyDeleteThe budget for this school year we received $2,500 dollars, $12.50 per student on books and materials. The library budget comes from the district, the principal (the school itself) and donations. The school enrollment this year is 200. I don’t believe it’s the monies that makes an effective library. After speaking with the librarian, she stated in order for the library to be effective she must be creative with her spending. She said when she is ordering books she think about the interest level and the reading level of each students. When ordering library books, she used different vendors, looking for discounts to get more
Question #2
The department head decides what the library buys for her department. The budget determines how much money goes to each material type. As the head librarian you will come to see what information the kids and teachers at your school need. As a future librarian how will I organize/prioritize my list, first I will purchase books by age appropriateness and reading level, rather than genre. Fiction can be broken down by target age range or grade level, then alpha by author within the age range or grade level. Nonfiction can be broken down by topic, then alpha by author within the topic. At my school the librarian make it easy for kids to find and put books back in the right place by using colored labels for genre. Red labels are genre 1 which is 1st and 2nd grade, yellow label -2nd-3rd grade and bright green 4th-5th grade. By using small colored labels makes it easy to recognized miss-shelved books. This is one way the kids can pick out age-appropriate books titles. Our school librarian stated her goal is to spend at least 60% of her budget on books (all genre, age appropriateness and reading level-- hardback) once she weed out the outdated books. The remaining amount 40% she will used on videos, computer equipment and furniture. She has a deadline to spend her budget and her advice spend it all.
Jackie,
ReplyDeleteYes, the key is not only the monies, but how and what you spend it on. Also. looking at getting more for your money by comparing prices and getting those discounts.
My librarian stated that most of her budget goes to books first as well, and then the rest to software/technology, office supplies, furniture. In addition, she does fundraisers throughout the year such as pictures with book characters and book fairs to help with other expenses.
Purchases will then be determined by the needs of your campus: your population, curriculum, equitable distribution among grade levels, and requests made by students and staff.
My school has an enrollment of 339 students. Our library budget for this year is $7500 which comes out to $22.12 per student. I’m especially thankful for this number after reading some of the other blog entries! Our budget is split 3 ways: $6500 for books, $500 for periodicals, and $500 for ebooks. I feel that this budget allows for the librarian to maintain an effective library. Our librarian is in her first year and unfortunately was given the task of increasing the average age of the collection. (No weeding in years!) Like many of you, she was also given the advice to spend every penny from her mentor. She said she will have no trouble doing so this year, especially since she is weeding and making room for new materials. Since I am not currently working as a librarian, I’m not sure of how I would structure my budget for the curriculum support of each subject. I would have to assess my collection and collaborate with teachers to determine how I could most effectively support the curriculum needs.
ReplyDeleteQ2. Based on the needs of my campus, I would collaborate with teachers to determine how I could best support their curriculum needs. For recreational reading purposes, I would like to collaborate with my students to determine their interests and what they would like to see more of in our collection. I would prioritize my purchases after assessing the collection to determine how to most effectively grow the collection.
ReplyDeleteMegan,
ReplyDeleteYes, collaboration is key, we must be knowledgeable and intentional with our purchases. Determining the needs of your campus is crucial. We need to be wise in spending every penny based of what will benefit the students and your curriculum. If we structure our budgets well, our monies will definitely go a long way. Even if some of us are not allocated as much as others.
JMF and Fellow Classmates,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your insights on this VERY important responsibility we have as current and future librarians. I know I've gained new knowledge after reading the article and everyone's feedback, but still have a lot to learn.
Even though everyone's budget varied, the main consensus was to stretch your budget, spend wisely and in creative ways, collaborate, have a Wish List, and most importantly, spend EVERY penny.
To wrap it up, I leave you with these tips from Young's article:
B - Balance accounts and check invoices
U - Use per pupil expenditures make comparisons-state and local
D - Determine the Needs and Wants of your campus
G - Get outside funding to enhance your budget
E - Enhance your budget visually by using charts and graphs
T - Take the time to compare prices on all items
S - Prepare a budget for SEVERAL years in advance
Have a Great Week!!!
Sincerely,
Sandra
The librarian at my school did not have an exact amount of the budget at the beginning of the year. She is a first year librarian and any materials that she asked for she was told that it would come from her budget, but she never knew how much. So any money she spent, it was used for AR prizes, administrative supplies, book fair materials and folders for students to track AR data. Later on the principal did allocate $1800 for books. There are 465 students in the school which calculates to $3.87 per student. She collaborated with other teachers to help create the list for titles that would be beneficial to students.
ReplyDeleteI asked another librarian at another school and her budget is $3000 for books, $1000 for materials. There are 532 students which calculates to $5.63 per student. She chose from Honor book titles, for example, Newberry and Caldecott. She also collaborated with teachers and students as well to choose books based on their needs.
I believe both amounts for the library can be effective especially if that’s all you have to work with. Collaboration will definitely be important because the needs of the students have to be discussed and what would benefit them. Also, utilizing the curriculum will be important as well.
Stacey,
DeleteCollaboration is key when determining the needs and wants for your campus, no matter how much money your're allocated. The more heads together, the better your plan will be. Thus, creating a more effective library.
Question 2
ReplyDeleteI would meet with the schools SBDM and together determine what to purchase. As a committee we would develop a needs assessment that would benefit all students.
My school’s library has a yearly budget of approximately $700.00 while serving 679 students, that gives us about $1.03 per student. I know, INCREDIBLE! From this budget she is also responsible for the AR incentives. This is not including our two annual book fairs. Now I completely understand why she pushes her fundraisers a lot. God Bless her soul. She told me to always have a wish list on hand just in case I get additional funds at the end of the school year. My librarian also stated to make sure I spend every cent from the budget and as soon as possible if not I will run the risk of losing it by either being cut or transferring it to another school account.
ReplyDeleteEnelda, my heart aches for you. I am glad you are learning such valuable information though from your librarian. She sounds like a very wise woman.
DeleteEnelda,
DeleteKudos to your librarian for being able to stretch her budget the best way she can. Until now, I hadn't realized how much budgets differed overall, and will definitely take everyone's great advice and apply it when I have my own library to run.
Sorry to just get my post up here, but better late than never... Our budget fluctuates depending on how many students are enrolled. This past year my head librarian received about $8,000 for books. We have a population of about 500 students, which is about $16 per child. I know my head librarian also does things to help get more money for books. This includes having three book fairs (a fall, spring, and small BOGO free book fair right before school lets out.) With these book fairs she receives scholastic dollars and free books. She also does a fundraiser of sorts called, “Birthday book club” which is very similar to what Young mentioned in her article. She also does a lot of book shopping on different sites, before ordering. Also being a librarian for over 15 years, she has made some great contacts, which have helped. These funds only go towards books. My head librarian also receives other funds to help for other expenses including periodicals, newspapers, supplies, teacher resources, databases, audio visual items, repairs, and other things. This adds about another $10,000 to her budget. I feel with all these funds, we have more than enough to adequately run our library. I do know one day our school hopes to expand and possibly add a second library. If that is the case, we would definitely have to reevaluate our budget and expenditures.
ReplyDeleteCristofer,
DeleteNever too late. Sorry for wrapping it up earlier, wasn't feeling well and was afraid I wasn't going to be up to wrap up the week.
That's awesome! Sounds like you have a great mentor.
My librarian uses those Scholastic dollars as well. I also like the Birthday Book Club idea.
Expanding and perhaps adding a second library? How will it be divided? By grade levels or genres?
Our library has a computer lab attached to it that seats up to 25 students. I've seen other libraries with bigger labs attached that seat up to 35 students.
Thanks for sharing!