Wools Chapter 9; Empowering Chapter 3

Wools Chapter 9:
Budget is something that everyone in the field of education has to worry about. In small districts such as the one I work in it’s a constant wet towel on an otherwise great environment. It was nice to read through this chapter and understand a little more of how things work at an (almost) administrative level. Certainly much higher than what I have to worry about at this current time. The thing I took away to be most important was to have your plan (or proposal) written out neatly, leaving out things that aren’t necessary, and treating it almost like a college paper, making sure you have people reread over it to check for errors.
The purchase specifications helped me understand what needs to be addressed in the proposal more than anything. First, you communicate specific desires of what is needed, how and who will use the equipment, and how will it be installed and delivered? Another important factor is when you need something that is detailed oriented, make sure that it is of high quality, media centers have to be cost accountable to the taxpayers of their community.
I was a little surprised to read, at first, the fact that some school districts refuse for any outside funds to be used for certain school projects. However, upon completing the paragraph, I can see where it would make sense. Obviously, if the money is coming from somewhere like a grant, or non-profit business, there should be no issues. Sometimes though, people ‘donate’ money in thoughts that a favor could or should be returned at a later date by the school system. Use your imagination to think of a few!
This chapter was great, because it walked you through step by step on how to complete all the necessary paper work to run a library financially. I found it a little repetitive at times, and hard to get through, but I understand the fact that it is vital for these things to be clearly defined.

Empowering Learners Chapter 3; Budget:
The section on budget here clearly lets the librarian know that there will be times when money is a shortfall, and they will have to put in extra hours to earn what is needed. The librarian is responsible for doing many things like, writing grants, fundraisers, and even parent donation programs. Our library does an annual book fair that greatly helps the financials. Each year there is usually enough money raised for each teacher to come up and select a free book. This is a big deal considering that each grade has 6-7 teachers, including special education. There is also a program where books can be donated in memory of someone, the students especially enjoy these because there’s always a sticker inside the cover that says who donated it and for whom. This chapter also talks of the importance of the librarian in collecting and using data to support their means. Not only are they collecting the data on how much the library is collaborating and assisting the school as a whole, but also current market trends about resources they need, use, or might want in the future. One thing I would like to see at an elementary level, that would probably help with costs, is an interlibrary loan, or a ‘Craigslist’ type of forum. Imagine, you have 5 copies of Dear Mr. Henshaw, your library only needs two, go online and see if that book is needed and if they’re willing to exchange for anything you need or want. I can totally see this happening!