I remember my going to my first area meeting well. There were about 15 of us, most of us new to the position, many of us still studying, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
the dreaded topic of budgets and funding was approached – woeful tales of how little they had to spend, how much it had been slashed from last year – how much these new budding librarians felt they were undervalued and underappreciated. I could only sit in silence, slightly embarrassed – my school library was in a rather good position with a healthy budget left from my predecessor, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to justify why we needed that money.
In recent years, there has been an alarming loss of the number of qualified teacher librarians ( ABC – School libraries hit by the loss of dying breed 2019), morale is low amongst the librarian community ( the previous librarian had warned me “don’t do it!”) and budget is one way that schools show just how misunderstood the library is and the important role it plays in student literacy and development ( SCIS Data 2019.
My library is well funded – well kind of – most of my funding is allocated to books and literature but my learning spaces are severely lacking. For some reason, these just don’t seem important and are always overlooked – I mean we are just the “caretakers of books” aren’t we? (ABC 2019). A study by the school library research center (2010) showed that many school leaders are naive on what it is school libraries are meant for. Many strongly agreed that teacher librarians should take ownership of collaboration and school-wide library resources, however, the reins are often pulled back in favour of other school development areas ( ABC 2019). In regards to budgeting, knowledge, and experience play a pivotal role in ensuring that school funding is allocated accordingly. Developing appropriate policies can help justify this, however, these policies need to be created on a collaborative level.
the school library is for everyone. Lamb, A. & Johnson, H.L. (2012) describe the role of the librarian ” The library media specialist is responsible for managing the financial resources of the library media program.”. In particular, they describe a good budget manager as having three separate hats – collaborator, steward, and thinker. When I think about these hats in my current role I have the following examples.
Collaborator: I have collaborated with staff and students in regards to our library acquisitions. We constantly ensure the collection is on par with the current curriculum. This was particularly important in regards to our senior studies collection, as being a selective school and with many curriculum changes, this was in dire need of a weed. I asked all headteachers to come down and help with the process and also worked closely with suppliers to ensure new texts were available quickly.
Steward: I am constantly trawling forums, newsletters for current trends in purchasing and then communicating these to the school population. Being a steward also means fighting for appropriate budgets for resources and ensuring I am responsible for spending. We have developed a sophisticated excel file that helps us keep track of spending.
Thinker: Librarians are believed to be a dying breed. It important that we are constantly being creative and innovative with our practice and ensuring we get the resources to do so. Sometimes, we have to make do – regarding funds to other programs or understanding that careful planning might mean that program runs next year and not this one. This was particularly relevant during covid when our entire budget became pretty much irrelevant.
https://theconversation.com/a-place-to-get-away-from-it-all-5-ways-school-libraries-support-student-well-being-145180
Bibliography
Lamb, A. & Johnson, H.L. (2012). Program administration: Budget management. The School Library Media Specialist. http://eduscapes.com/sms/administration/budget.html.
Paciotti, B. (2020, June 4). Feeling Discouraged As a School Librarian. From Header Tag in Adv Settings: Looking Backwards-No Sweat Library Lessons & Management That Works. https://lookingbackward.edublogs.org/2015/04/30/discouragement/
Carmody, R. (2019, September 15). School libraries hit by the loss of a dying breed as teacher librarians enter “survival mode.” ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-15/research-reveals-alarming-loss-in-teacher-librarians-in-schools/11494022
Novak, B. (n.d.). It’s time: let’s improve schools’ perceptions of teacher librarians. Http://Www.Scisdata.Com. Retrieved April 13, 2021, from https://www.scisdata.com/connections/issue-99/it-s-time-let-s-improve-schools-perceptions-of-teacher-librarians/#:%7E:text=Teacher%20librarians%20can%20support%20teachers,skill%20held%20by%20teacher%20librarians.
Church, A. P. (2013). Secondary School Principals’ Perceptions of the School Librarian’s Instructional Role. School Library Research, 13(2165–1019), 7–10. http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslpubsandjournals/slr/vol13/SLR_SecondarySchool_V13.pdf
Richardson, N. (n.d.). Students need great school libraries. Http://Www.Scisdata.Com. Retrieved April 13, 2021, from https://www.scisdata.com/connections/issue-109/students-need-great-school-libraries
Menzies, S. (n.d.). Outsourcing: time for a new look? Http://Www.Scisdata.Com. Retrieved April 13, 2021, from https://www.scisdata.com/connections/issue-111/outsourcing-time-for-a-new-look/
