by Donna Kearley, September 2021

Writing in Knowledge Quest, Melanie Lewis tells us, "When I was a candidate in a school library preparation program,…my instructors informed me that I would need to continually advocate for my school librarian position" (2020). One reason for this is that school library programs are chronically underfunded. I, too, discovered how true this was when I became a school librarian, but I also discovered I still had a lot to learn about advocating for increases in budgets. Now that I am a library administrator I'd like to share what I've learned about budgets to help you with your own advocacy.

Funding Outlook

An important consideration is your school and district's budget outlook. What does the funding look like for the next fiscal year? Due to the pandemic, schools all over the country have spent an inordinate amount of money this past year on personal protective equipment, hand sanitizer, and Plexiglas shields. When funding is tight, such as in a pandemic or when the legislature is experiencing a shortfall that might trickle down to your district, it's not a great year to request something expensive such as a library clerk even though it is a sorely needed position. In this scenario, it would be easier to receive funding for additional days to your contract than to add another full-time person with a salary and benefits. It would also be reasonable to request a 10% increase for an existing digital resource or database due to a cost increase from the vendor. You could also request funding for materials needed for a new unit or course that will be offered for the next school year.

Consider All Aspects of the Library

The first thing to think about when considering the budget is what needs to be replaced. You might create headings for such items as computers, equipment, digital or subscription resources, books, supplies, and media. Then, group your budget requests under these headings.

Consider your terminology as you make your list. If you use a particular term, what does it mean to the group deciding on your funding? In my state we started calling databases "digital resources" because we found our legislators, who were tasked with deciding on whether to fund state-wide resources, didn't understand the term. They also felt the term "databases" was "old school," when they were interested in funding something new and exciting. Some people also think everything is free on the Internet. So to combat those obstacles, we rebranded our materials as digital resources.

Computers

In some districts, computers are replaced on a rotating basis centrally and you don't need to factor this into your requests. But, if you must allocate money for computers you have two options to replace those computers.

Most computers have a life-span of five years. So the first option is to request money every five years to replace all your computers at once. This can be a large request if you have a lot of computers, but it is the easiest on the library staff. A formula for this might look like: 40 computers x cost of computers = request for computers (every 5 years).

The second option is to replace a certain percentage of computers yearly. A formula for this might be: 40 computers divided by 5 years = # computers to replace yearly or 8 computers x cost of computers = yearly cost to update computers.

Equipment

Do you need to replace any equipment? What is the lifespan of your equipment? Do you need repair money or replacement money? When I was a new middle school librarian, I found the previous librarian kept excellent records of how many times a piece of equipment had been repaired. These were available for me to organize into a report for my principal. I found some pieces of equipment had been repaired repeatedly. When I looked at the cost involved, I found the district had paid for that equipment five or six times in repair costs and it would be more cost effective to replace it, so I shared that information with my principal. While that didn't get me any more money the next year, he did reallocate it. Instead of having $2,000 in a repair account, I now had $500 in the repair account and $1500 in a replacement fund. That gave me flexibility to purchase new equipment to replace some of the antiquated equipment I had inherited.

Digital Resources/Subscription Resources

Have you needed digital resources during the pandemic? Have you been using the free resources publishers provided temporarily? What is your plan to continue them in the future? In your budget justification, explain that free resources expire soon and you need funding in order to continue having them. Our district is adding a virtual academy for parents and students who wish to continue learning virtually. They will need digital materials. So my plan is to work with curriculum coordinators and teachers to put together a list of what they need to teach and I have already requested funding to provide it.

Justification

When requesting additional money for books, how you craft your request may mean the difference between success and failure. A request for an additional $3,000 for books will probably be denied because there is no context or reason behind it. A much better way to word the request would be to ask for $3,000 for books and digital resources to support the new AP course being added to the high school curriculum in aquatic science.

If you need to update your nonfiction reading materials you might try giving examples of why this needs to be done. Good examples include materials that describe Pluto as a planet or countries that no longer exist, or those that include illustrations that are clearly dated such as nurses in white uniforms and caps. Some actual examples from my libraries include Smoking: Your Friend and its companion book Alcohol: Your Friend both published in the 1950's, Prince Charles: The World's Most Eligible Bachelor published in the 1970's (before his marriage to Diana), and a Nintendo book from 1995.

Wanting to add materials that reflect the culture of your campus can be another good reason to request money for materials. When you request money for books that are inclusive, show some images of materials you have removed with biased or culturally insensitive depictions. Be sure to include examples of race, gender, social justice, and or mental health and disability awareness.

Another way to request funding is to tie it to a specific unit. This is especially important if your state or district is updating their curriculum and standards. You could request funding for the 7th grade unit on earth science. Or, look to see what areas are addressed in your campus or district improvement plans. Tying your request to things of importance to your administrators increases your chances of success. In our state, inferencing is always a high priority. Requesting an increase in budget to purchase materials that could be used to teach inferencing might be appropriate. I would include many picture books or wordless books where students must determine what is happening in the story using visual clues and professional materials to help teach inferencing. Then, plan a short workshop for teachers to showcase these new items with ideas on ways they can be incorporated into lessons.

Another way to look at budgets is to see what other schools or districts are receiving. In our state, the state library standards give a recommended amount for a budget (Texas Library Standards 2018).

In closing, I hope you find these suggestions helpful in planning budget requests and that they give you ideas for ways you can increase your library budget to support faculty and students. Any increase in budget allows you to stretch your existing budget to purchase award books, popular fiction, and other routine budget items.

Works Cited and Further Reading

"Budget in the Crosshairs? Navigating a Challenging Budget Year." ALA Advocacy Library. http://www.ala.org/advocacy/navigating-challenging-budget-year-budget-crosshairs. Accessed May 7, 2021.

Kachel, Debra. "Advocating for the School Library Budget." Teacher Librarian 45, no. 2 (December 2017): 48-50.

Johnson, Doug. "Effective Library Budgeting." Blue Skunk Blog (January 23, 2012). http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2012/1/23/effective-library-budgeting.html.

Johnson, Doug. "The Maintenance Formula." Blue Skunk Blog (January 30, 2012). http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2012/1/30/the-maintenance-formula.html

Lewis, Melanie. "Advocating for the School Library through Relationships." Knowledge Quest 49, no. 1 (September/October 2020): 56-59.

School Library Programs: Standards and Guidelines for Texas. Texas State Library and Archives Commission, 2018. https://www.tsl.texas.gov/ldn/schoollibrarystandards