The Week's Readings

Blog Series: Johnson, D. (2009). Budgeting for learn, mean times.

Good budgeting is essential.  Usually a school has at least one program that is particularly well funded, and Johnson argues that with expert budgeting, this funded program could be the school library.  Also, the internet as a free resource does not replace print resources, but rather online and print resources complement each other.  Make sure you know and believe in your library's mission - this will ensure your drive to obtain funds for your library.  Also make sure you understand how your district's budget operates, and who controls the budget.  As you budget for your library, understand that you will report to someone else on how you spent your money.  Develop an advisory board to help, get involved in school meetings, local meetings, or politics for advocacy purposes.  Also use technology when crafting budgets - spreadsheets, word processors, and presentations can all help!

There's a lot to deal with when developing and maintaining a budget!  I think that lists are very important.  Lists are important for you to keep track of money you spend and to keep track of new areas to spend money on.  Lists are also important when presenting your budget to somebody else - you won't forget how or why you spent the money you did, and you can show exactly where the money is going.  I also liked the idea of the advisory board.  This is another excellent opportunity to take advantage of talent in your school community, collaborate with those folks, and advocate for your program.

Woolls Ch. 7+9

In these chapters, Woolls discusses how to manage personnel and how to manage your budget.  When managing your personnel, Woolls suggests that volunteers might actually take more management skills than paid staff.  Volunteers are paid by personal appreciation, they require more training and direction, and correcting their actions requires lots of tact.  All true.  I was surprised that Woolls also points out that as the school librarian you might have to help train the teachers.  I think this could either set the librarian immediately up for success or failure, depending on new teachers' first impressions.  Overall, Woolls says that to motivate your staff at its most basic requires listening to their input and developing enough tasks to keep them engaged.

When it comes to managing the budget, Woolls spends a lot of time on grant writing.  I am currently taking the grant writing class in the School of Social Work.  I always enjoy when classes line up to complement each other.  In our grant writing class, we just finished writing our grants two weeks or so ago.  The grant proposal is not a lengthy document, but it takes a lot of thought and preparation.  Every section in the grant needs to directly correlate to make a cohesive whole to even stand a chance of catching a grant funder's eye.  Even though grant writing is a lot of work, the benefits can sure pay off.

From Coatney - "Leadership and your professional school organization" by Blanche Woolls

In her essay, Woolls discusses the importance of becoming involved in a professional school library association.  Should you become an officer (which Woolls reminds us is a privilege) you must become familiar with the organization's rules.  You have to know how to organize and lead groups, and how to meet and talk with media.  I'm wondering how many school librarians do have an encounter with the media at some point in their careers?  Woolls also says that leadership may be as simple as writing a letter to the editor, or submitting an article for publication.  Most importantly, school librarians must remain aware of what is happening in the field.  Finally, in order to attend conferences, you must be able to state your case about why it is important to attend that conference.  All of the above demonstrates your dedication to school libraries.

From the School Libraries eBook: "'Filled with Heart': Characteristics of 21st-century School Librarians," by Michael Stephens

This brief essay seemed fitting to address our recent conversations about the toughness needed to be a school librarian.  School librarians are fighting for their jobs, and it can seem draining and hopeless.  And then we have a reminder like this one that successful librarians are "filled with heart."  In fact, each of Stephens' points seem to suggest that the librarian is just as much of a scholar as her students.  Successful 21st-century librarians are barrier breakers, changing perceptions about the school library; they're curious, wondering about how the outside world can change their school programs; learners, researching how other methods can shape their own programs; they think big, seeing the big picture and not getting caught up in the day to day; learners, in the lifelong sense; and persistent, always looking to positively and actively represent their programs.  Through all this, they are "filled with heart" - they empathize with and look to advance their fellow mankind.  Wow - now there's a positive for school librarians!