Reflective questions from Module 3: Accession and Acquisition

Should teacher librarians have the responsibility of submitting a budget proposal to fund the library collection to the school’s senior management and/or the school community? Or should such proposals come from a wider group such as a school library committee?

I believe the teacher librarian is the guiding factor in budgeting decisions however they should consider with importance the perspectives of various stakeholders. I believe that a school library committee would be a very beneficial resource for the teacher librarian to use in decision making for budget allocation however should not be a driving force. Ultimately, the teacher librarian should be in consistent collaboration with all parties enough to have definitive knowledge on what resources are most appropriate and require priority in the budget allocation.

 

Is it preferable that the funding for the school library collection be distributed to teachers and departments so they have the power to determine what will be added to the library collection?

It would be difficult to monitor all uses of the budget when given to each department. The teacher librarian would need to devise a strict and rigorous system that carefully monitors purchases to ensure they are relevant and appropriate. All resources should be passed through the library to ensure they are equitably used by the whole school. In a primary school setting, all teachers teach the same key learning areas therefore some of the competing considerations of budget allocations could be key learning areas, English as an additional dialect resources, cultural resources, technology and the list goes on. The concept of patron driven acquisition is desirable in this situation as it ensures each party has a say in what resources should be included and, when budgeting allows, will eventually be included.