The following two questions have been posed for reflection in relation to school library budgets and the TL:
- 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?
- 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?
In addressing both questions, Lamb and Johnson’s (2012) identification of the teacher librarian (or media specialist) as a collaborator and steward come to mind. If the TL(s) is responsible in communicating and collaborating across the school community, is knowledgeable but also able to ask clear, informed questions to members of the community, both budget proposals and acquisition decisions should come through that person or persons. With good collaborative relationships, an understanding of curriculum, and recognising the library as one part of a larger entity, the TL balances needs, sees possible overlap of needs, and can make decisions which have a greater chance of making impactful collection development.
In my first years as TL, budgets were simply handed down from above. An operations manager communicated a number to me and I never considered asking where that number came from until the second year when I realised how inappropriate this was in meeting the needs of our primary library. The answer I received was, “It was the same as last year.” Further questioning led me nowhere. Without understanding on the conventions of library budget proposals or policies, I could only make a plea based on the most obvious areas where the alloted budget failed the library and the students. This is not an effective way to resource a library, but fortunately the principal was open to my clumsy proposals for more money in certain areas. With a greater understanding of budget policies and procedures, a qualified teacher librarian would have been able to draw on industry models, such as the ALIA and Victorian Catholic Teacher Librarians’ ‘A Manual for Developing Policies and Procedures in Australian School Library Resource Centres’ to guide proposals.
A well connected teacher librarian, with not only a strong understanding of available resources, selection aids, curriculum and students can communicate across shareholders and leverage these skills for effective collection building and maintenance. This proactive and accountable teacher librarian is in contrast to one without an understanding of budgeting practices and who passively waits for budgetary decisions to come down as noted by Debowski (2001). Senior management at a school are usually working too broadly and beyond means and would likely be both grateful and responsive to an informed and accountable TL.
As for selection and acquisition, a centralised role, like the TL, is preferrable to a distributed responsibility to teachers and departments who would be more singular in their vision for what is needed in the collection. It is unlikely that teachers and departments would have the same knowledge of the library collection which library personnel necessarily have, or an understanding of the purposes for funding. Debowski (2001) outlines four purposes as replacing, developing new areas and services, building areas which are not meeting demands, and meeting standards across the curriculum (p. 304). Meeting these purposes requires knowledge gathering and then a final level of selection.
There is no definitive answer for these questions without considering one’s specific setting. In answering these I did just that, but largely extrapolated my thinking on past and present experiences to school settings in general. Demands are high, time is limited, funding is often limited too. In such an environment it is only normal that teachers and faculties think in the most immediate of terms. The TL needs to be the one who can situate the collection within the larger goals of the school (Kimmel, 2014, p. 18).
Australian Library and Information Association & Schools and Victorian Catholic Teacher Librarians. (2017). A Manual for Developing Policies and Procedures in Australian School Library Resource Centres. 2nd edition. https://alia.org.au/Web/Web/News/Articles/2022/3-March/Budget_202223%20_an_overview_for_LIS.aspx
Debowski, S. (2001). Collection program funding management. In K. Dillon, J. Henri & J.McGregor (Eds.). Providing more with less: collection management for school libraries (2nd ed.) (pp. 299-326). Wagga Wagga, NSW : Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University. (e-reserve)
Kimmel, S. C. (2014). Developing collections to empower learners. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/lib/csuau/detail.action?docID=1687658
Lamb, A. & Johnson, H.L. (2012). Program administration: Budget management. The School Library Media Specialist. http://eduscapes.com/sms/administration/budget.html.
