When it comes to the school collection there are many things that need to be considered. 

The budget. No one really likes talking about money but in this case it is a vital part of the library and what we can and can’t do. I found it interesting that you can’t compare two libraries because different payments and items assigned are going to be different for each library. Lamb and Johnson (2012) explain that a teacher librarian has to be a collaborator (works with others), steward (leader and doesn’t spend everything at once) and a thinker (knowing what is available). These are something that I will remember, as being in charge of a budget can be a very daunting task. I am curious if our current teacher librarian conducts an annual report. This seems to be a great way for the school leadership to understand what goes on in the library and where the funds go. It might also help them to realise what a vital part the library plays. 

Again, collaboration is the key when working in the library. I see this as an important part of knowing what resources the teachers need and knowing that the resource will be used. There is nothing worse than spending money on a resource that won’t get used. This is something that needs to be improved in our school. There is currently no collaboration between the TL and teachers and what resources would benefit the work we complete in the classroom. 

When it comes to ordering and suppliers, this process seems to be quite overwhelming and I will need to gain more understanding in the future and even see how it works within the school library. The discussion of physical versus ebooks seems to continue (in a good way) and there is so much to understand especially when it comes to ebooks. It certainly is not an easy decision and my opinion at this stage is you have to go with what works for your library and budget but you must be open to new opportunities. We can always seem to be doing the same thing, just because that is how it always has been.    

I would be keen to know about how our online items are recorded. In the Prep to Year 2 area our online readers and other online programs are managed by our coordinator and I don’t think the library would have any say about this. Is this something that needs to change and should the library be included? I know that we have access to Clickview but they is monitored by the library technician and she works closely with IT. More aspects to think about and investigate.

Lamb, A. & Johnson, H.L. (2012). Program administration: Budget management. The School Library Media Specialist.