Kristine Yeckley-Torres

FRIT 7132

Dr. Stephanie Jones

The word budget in educational realms is often a touchy subject. Mention “budget cuts” and

you have a number of people up in arms. Media specialists, cities, school boards, and individual

schools are finding funds being cut often. How are they able to keep up with the needs of the

individual student? How are they managing to stay open when “the powers that be” are cutting back

their funding at a dramatic rate? How are the libraries and media centers finding ways to stretch their

already tight budget? And how do they convince “the powers that be” to at least keep the status quo?

How does the average media specialist maintain their center and get approval from their principal? The

job of a media specialist is much more than the librarian of yesterday who sat behind the desk and kept

the room quiet and checked books in and out. Today’s media specialists not only teach, advise, are

tech gurus, but they also need to be knowledgable on how to plan, keep, and stretch a budget. They are

the new super person in the media center, the one who does and knows it all.

Norman Older (2008), states that 81% of all those polled for his report projected an incerease in

total operating bugets, only 68% said they expected materials funding to go up. Older continues, that

about 14% of operating costs in the budget go to library materials while 63% covers personnel costs.

One of the first challenges media centers face is that of tech issues. Older (2008) reports that nearly

tree-quarters (73%) of respondents reported that they have an inadequate number of workstations at

least once a week, and almost half of the sample said the workstation challenge recurs daily. About

one-third said they experience daily inadequate bandwidth.

Libraries depend on local property tax collections and with housing markets in such a slump
their funding has been dramatically cut. The "National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) in

December (2008) announced that 24 states and Puerto Rico had reported that state revenues were hurt

by the housing sector slump. They continued by saying if a recession hits it could be painful".

Robin Young (2008) reports that keeping track of the budget for the library media center is on

of the most important tasks entrusted to a library media specialists by the the school principal and

community, Young states that their are eight steps to maintain and increase the library media center

budget. Young first states that "everything in the media center is for the benefit of the students, so any

purchases made should be with student achievement in mind". Second, budget requests need to be

itemized in terms of per pupil spending. She continues to say that principals do not like to fall behind

spending of other schools so be prepared to offer budget lists from other schools. Show your budget

expenditures using charts and graphs, as visually numbers appear more realistic than just regular basic

print. Young continues to say that it is extremely important to make sure you are keeping on top of the

accounts. Utilize funding from outside sources such as business partners, community groups, and

parents. Try and order online with other schools as some companies give large discounts when more

schools are ordering. Finally, compare prices. In today's ever shrinking budgets it is vital to find the

best deals in order to capitalize on your cost per child.

As a media specialist, one must be involved and understand the finances of the entire school. In

doing so one must work closely with the administration. McGhee and Jansen state that "when

principals and assistant principals discourage the use of practices unfamiliar to them or do not support

best practices, they can actually hamper student achievement and professional growth. As a media

specialist this especially effects their efforts to bring the proper materials to their center. They continue

stating that as "student achievement scores improve as quality characteristics of the media center

program increase". Having the support of your administration on budget issues is vital to a well visited

and used media center.

 Finally, McGhee and Jansen state "that a library media center program has the potential to

impact student learning like no other support program". The development and execution of the media

center budget is one of the media specialists most important tasks. As media specialist is responsible

for incorporating a love of reading and inquisition to all our students, we must ensure our budget

encompasses that endeavor through funding.

Cox, Marge. (2006). 10 Tips for Budgeting. Library Media Connection.

Dalston, Teresa, & Michael Pullin. (2008). Virtual Reference on a Budget: Case

Studies. Library Media Connection.

Jansen, Barbara A., & McGhee, Marla W. (2006). The Principal Component:

Bringing Your Administrator on Board. Library Media Connection.

Young, Robyn. (2008). Eight Easy Steps to Maintain and Increase the Library Media

Center Budget. Library Media Connection.