school library budgets

Geoff Dubber. Education, Libraries & Learning

What’s yours ? ~ a quick look at school

library budgets

Geoff Dubber Education, Libraries & Learning & Past Chair of the School Library [email protected]

£


BECTaQCDAGTCBSFAS levels ?School Library Budgets cuts -

By how much ? When ? For how long ? Where ?With what impact ?

25% cuts ??40% cuts ??


2005 – HMCI report David BellRef. 2005-14

Another main issue is that of under-funding which leads to inadequate book provision to support the number of pupils in the school and the breadth of the curriculumMarch 2006 Good School LibrariesRef. HMI 2624

Funding for libraries varied markedly.. the survey found a direct link between well funded libraries and effectiveness…..

We all know it, but it’s worth quoting again.. and again…… !


Hence my simple survey.. that I hope will

grow

The amount of money that a school invests in its library on an annual basis has always been one good indicator of the standing of the library within the school and the potential that the library has to support the curriculum and help to raise aspiration and achievement.

& empower colleagues !


Excellent 82 page report from Book Trust (with a little help from Kathy Lemaire at the SLA)October 2007 : Library Books in Schools

www.booktrusted.co.uk/schoollibraries/Booktrust%20%20final%20report%20V4.pdf

92% of secondary schools & 61% of primary schools are spending far below the recommended figure per head on books for their libraries

45 librarians, 9 English regionsPhone survey


Book Trust Report….. (October 2007)P38 secondary school libraries

Estimated library spend was only £4 per student

No year on year increase was noted in most schools

& on average

Only 66% of the budget was allocated to books for loan.


£££££

ssssssh !Budgets can be a sensitive subject within & between schoolsHow much do you get ? – um..well..

I’d appreciate it if you didn’t name the school, the head wouldn’t be happy

I am very happy for you to use any or all of the documents, but would be grateful for anonymity


but figures at your fingertips are power to your elbow !

I was very interested in the surveyresults and would like to pass them to my SLT to prove that my budget isvery much at the bottom of the list !Email to me 16 June 2010


What do others get then ? …..Just to show you some

differencesdo take a look at the handoutof a random collection of schools (BUD43)

Which school gives its LRC the most ?the least ?- per student


I also provide figures from Cheshire from June 2003 – I was running a session onBudgeting and invited colleagues to volunteer data (see BUD 37)

I also used others I’d obtained in the SLA Budgeting Guideline (2002)


Inflation/Retail Price Index

£100 in 2002 now worth £120

20 % increase

http://safalra.com/other/historical-uk-inflation-price-conversion/


15 sec. school library budgets I gathered in 2007/8 from all parts of the country(BUD43) (probably obtained from SLN comments)

Average per student here was..

£5.07 per student


SLA Central & East Berkshire branch survey - initiated Jan. 2010.

•Intended survey of 3 budget years ~ 2007/8 - 2008/9 - 2009/10 •I have figures from 13 volunteer schools•All anonymous – some more so that others•Some people provided incomplete data for the questionnaire – time, lack of info etc

Data compilation and simple report forthe branch June 2010..


What does the survey show ?

Various and variable !•Your schools appear to be atypical as variable as those elsewhere•The change over 3 years is very variable too in some cases……….

No area or national rhyme or reason why budgets change –• Particular to the school• Particular to the perceived library needs• Particular to the SLT attitude


Averages: 8 schools - State sector.. average per student Berks branch survey

~ £ 6.60

£6. 64 !

cf with 2003 figure from Book Trust –

£ 5.54 +20% =


Averages: 4 schools - Independent sector.. average per student Berks branch survey

~ £14.49

But only a very small sampleso not really representative


Average price of books (Ap- Nov 2009).Data from SLA website supplied by Peters Library Book Suppliers……………http://www.sla.org.uk/mbr_advisory-notes.php?i=2

Children’s hardback F ~ £ 8.93} paperback F ~ £ 4.58} av £6.75 hardback NF ~ £11.68} paperback NF ~ £ 6.79} av £9.23


How many books do you need to buy or borrow from your SLS to maintain & develop your book stock, never mind all the other resources that you need tobuy to have a vibrant and effective library service serving the learning and teaching needs of yourextensive range of customers ????

How many “new” books come through your libraryin an average academic year ?????????


Holt Jackson figures forMarch 2010 Hardback & Paperback averageAdult Fiction: £ 9.99Adult Non-fiction £19.10

Children’s Fiction £ 6.61 (Peters £6.75) Children’s Non-fiction £ 8.90 (Peters £9.23)

http://www.holtjackson.co.uk/cgi-perl/web_avg_book_price.pl


Book Trust report July 2007

p39In 2006/7 in the 45 schools surveyed ………

66% of the secondary school budget was spent on books allocated for loan…

SLA branch figures (p4 ) of GD reportof the 10 schools that provided data

54.1% was spent on books..


So where are we in relation to school budgets ?

IFLA School Library guidelines

As a general rule the school library material should be at least 5% of the per student expenditure of the school, exclusive of salaries, special education expenses transportation and capital improvement costs


DCSF (DfE) figures for 2009/10

Funding per pupil aged 3- 19 REAL TERMSI think this will cover all costs…………

Wokingham LA £4,550

South East Region £4,660

England £4,860

(Up 12% from 2005/6)- has your library budget gone up by 12% in that time ?


Comparisons….£6.60p spent per student on the library is 0.1434% of the total school budget allocated to each pupil in the South East Region

(given the sample figures I have available )


I rest my case ……………

school library budgets

Education

library books

school library budgets

school particular

good school libraries

secondary schools

perceived library

volunteer schools

primary schools