How do we know our library and collection are valued within a school by staff and students alike. There are a number of different ways that we as teacher librarians (TL) can see and monitor what spaces and resources are being used most effectively in our library. As I think more deeply about this topic I think about the students that come to our library. As a primary school library all students from kinder to year 6 have weekly library lessons so looking at the number of students into the library is not an accurate representation of who is using the resources. Monitoring borrowing patterns from different grade groups is the most efficient way to see if students and even staff are actually coming and using the library and it’s resources on a regular basis.

But what about the resources. What is being used the most? What do we need more of?

When I think about these questions I start thinking about how what I provide within the library can impact what students and staff borrow. By having different displays on topics, new release and a range of fiction and non-fiction can subconsciously impact what the student body are borrowing. By using circulation systems to assess what resources are being borrowed the most as well as visual observations I will be able to see the types of resources the students and staff are using most frequently.