Budgeting for Mean, Lean Times Part 9
Thursday, December 24, 2009 at 07:00AM 9. I report to budget decision-makers how past budget dollars have been spent.
One powerful way to convince others you should be given additional funding is to remind them how effective you have been using your past budgets. Remind them about how many people your program serves and how much of the curriculum depends on it. Get others on the staff to support your budget or items in your budget.
Don’t just deal in numbers. Let folks know how individuals, both teacher and student, have been helped by your program. The one common denominator that all effective salespeople have is the ability to tell a good story - to personalize the facts. Hey, and who can tell stories better than we can? “You should have seen the kids lined up before school opened to get into the media center to use the new computers. You all know how Johnny Smith never gets excited about anything in school. If you’d have seen him find the NASA website, you wouldn’t have recognized him.”
Sample report form to be shared with principal and leadership teams. Include with budget proposals
Library Media Department Year End Report for the 20__ -20__ School year.
Number of students* ______
Number of staff ______
Circulation statistics:
Number of print materials circulated (average per student): ____
Number of print materials circulated (average per teacher): ____
In-library circulation of print materials (average per day): ____
Use of online resources by school (provided by provider): ____
AV materials circulated: Use and Service
TV/VCRs ______ Classes held/hosted: ______
Computers ______ Lessons taught: ______
Portable computer labs: ______ Drop in users (ave per day): ______
AlphaSmart labs: ______ Computer lab reservations: ______
Tape recorders: ______ Before and after hours user (ave per day): ______
Video cameras: ______ Number of staff development classes ________
Other (please list): ______ Other uses: ______
Comments:
Collections:
Number of books acquired (all sources): ______
Number of books deleted: ______
Number of AV materials acquired (all sources): ______
Number of AV materials deleted: ______
Number of software programs acquired (all sources): ______
Number of software programs deleted: ______
Number of online subscriptions added (all sources): ______
Number of online subscriptions deleted: ______
Program goals for the year and a short summary of the extent to which those goals have been met:
1.
2.
3.
Instructional highlights and special programs or activities
Please share a minimum of three instructional highlights for the past year.
Please concerns you may have about the media program
* All quantities should be shown for 3-5 successive years if available
Does this take time? You bet. Is it worth the time? My observation is that reporting takes less time than looking for another job.
Reader Comments (2)
Doug, I keep track of my total circulations and circulations per student, but how do I know if my circulation is high enough to justify my current collection budget or request an increase? Is there a general guideline for evaluating whether circulation is healthy or unhealthy? I feel like I can tell my supervisor, "We circulated 10 items per student this year," but they might say, "That doesn't sound like a lot to me." Thank you for any advice to share!
Hi Jane,
That's a great question. I don't that there any quantitative standards any longer when it comes to the number of titles per student that should be in a library.
When it comes to evaluating whether circulation is good or bad, I would look at it longitudinally. In other words, does the circulation improve quarter after quarter and year after year. To me, that is the indicator of an effective program. If you are in a district with multiple buildings serving your age group of students, you might wish to compare your circ with those of the others.
Not sure this helps, but it's what I can think of.
Doug