Funding Module 3

 What are the key issues in funding a school library that you are familiar with?

What factors would you include in calculating the cost per student of this library's collection?

Funding is an area of greatest challenge for me and I am finding my way through experience and education from this subject and other participants  ideas on the forum.

I am currently fairly new at my school and finding my feet with the management side of library. I have had experience teaching in the library but not with the administration side.
My principal has basically told me to spend until he says to stop! This makes it difficult for careful consideration and forward planning. I think it is his way of easing me into it  maybe. I will try and manage a budget submission in preparation for next year using some of the strategies I have learnt from the subject and assignment.

 The library budget for my school library I am told is normally about $8000 pa. This year due to underspending by the  previous TL and having targets of literacy and numeracy for this year, the allocation is large,  (yet exact figure still unknown to me.)

If I use the formula of budget divided by number of students: 
$8000 divided by 220 students equals approximately 36 dollars.

 Consideration of the changing  needs of the students and staff is essential  and supplementing and supporting   the implementation of the new national curriculum are essential. Technology  and consideration for inclusion of e - resources will need to be factored in to the budget over the next two years.

Providing an annual report can be an effective way of maintaing or obtaining improved funding for the library. I found this website to be helpful:
National Library of New Zealand:  http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/developing-your-library/tools-and-guides/annual-report

"Your annual report to the Board of Trustees enables you to show evidence demonstrating the impact your library has had on student learning. Here are some tips on creating a succinct, engaging report that is likely to be read."

More useful weblinks on creating accountability through annual reports.
http://www.sldirectory.com/libsf/resf/studies.html#annual

Module 2. 2 e - resource providers

 'The advent of a new types of resource that do not have a physical presence has required rethinking and refinement of longstanding collections philosophy and practice. The term e-resource in this section is used to mean a resource that is generally available for download or use 'online' and includes websites, online databases, audio and video streaming media, software, web 2.0 applications and tools.' CSU Module 2. 2

Read the license agreements of Overdrive and Wheelers.
  Questions to consider-
• Can I use this in a school? (Is a school a non-commercial enterprise?) yes
• Can I copy this content and distribute to multiple devices? How many copies?
• Can I convert this content into a different format? some
• Can I share it with another school, eg interlibrary loan?
• Will I own this content if I stop subscribing? What if the publisher removes it from sale?
• Can I preview this content, or receive a refund if it is not what I was led to believe?
Summarise your findings.

 I looked at both overdrive and wheelers as I have heard other libraries using or considering them .
I couldn't locate  licensing information. I was only able to find  more general information available. I watched the videos ( some for overdrive were not available) and was marketed to very nicely.Overdrive has a nice visual appeal and marketability . I can't answer the questions below with the amount of information available from both websites however. Is this deliberate?

The basic information from the videos and PDF states the following:
 Overdrive  -video

•  uses 1000's of libraries to contribute 350 000 titles which can be customised or preselected in the form of starter packs.
• includes digital and audio, music and video content
• the system is set up for you then custom  built .
• can download to computer or devices
• can convert some to other formats
• lesson plans, study guides etc are available
• free technical support available
• secure website
• intuitive navigation
• compatible with Pc or Mac
• titles only available through subscriptions

Wheelers - video and PDF

•  same info as above
• you own the book and the title once purchased
• able to set loan parameters

Patron Driven Acquisition

ETL 503 Module 2.1 b
 retrieved from Google Scholar

e -  book -   Patron-Driven Acquisitions: History and Best Practices

David A. Swords

Retrieved from: http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=XSNiefyQ_ksC&oi=fnd&pg=PA63&dq=Patron+driven+Acquisition+primary++schools&ots=grabBeXaYU&sig=cjAGkanBNGUXpUGfSQDabX1szmM#v=onepage&q=Patron%20driven%20Acquisition%20primary%20%20schools&f=false

 Chapter 4 by Kari Paulson

Patron driven acquisition

This chapter looks at the history of patron driven acquisition. A trial was carried out of a demand driven model developed by Australian librarians and founded in 1977 by Australian booksellers. Alison Sutherland from Curtin University provided the inspiration and creative vision which helped shape the current model   which we see today. Academic libraries took up the trials as the model provided various options for automatic purchases based upon the uses. This expanded as publishers got on board providing more content. Demand driven or patron driven acquisition PDA was officially launched in 2004 at the ALA conference.

 There was initial resistance due to the following factors:

• Spending on resources they didn't own.
• Having less control
• negative feedback - users wanted physical books

Despite initial reservations PDA has continued to be come more widely used and successful for libraries and is common  practice in academic libraries in Australia and new Zealand.

 Module 2 Selection Policy
 Started this post  in April.
 I have become very aware that having and maintaining a Collection Policy is important and up until now I haven't ever sighted one at any of the schools in which I have worked in a Teacher Librarian capacity. I am not aware that the Library at my current school even possesses one.  As I have taken over the TL role I guess it is my responsibility now. Therefore this subject falls just at the right time for me.

continued  May
I am nearing the end of writing my collection policy now.. My school did not have one and the Principal didn't appear concerned or feel that one was particularly necessary. I informed him he would be getting one anyway. Perhaps once he has read the policy  he will have more of an understanding as I myself have now. I can see having one helps clarify the direction you want the library collection to be heading in. I am far more aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the collection and how I can better cater for the needs of the users and not just boost the numbers in the collection and  improve its appearance.