Budget Cuts, Libraries, and Student Achievement

Wilson, Shibrie

Rosales, J. (2011). Checking Out. National Educational Association. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/43952.htm

Librarians have always been associated with a stereotype of being strict, wearing a bun, and continuously "shushing" patrons. But as we know this does not define all librarians. Cathy Collins is a librarian at High School in Massachusetts and her job entails many different things. Some her job description includes being internet savvy, collaborating with teachers, writing grants, and assisting students with media materials. Being that librarians are working behind scenes, legislatures do not fully appreciate the occupation and find it easy to cut funding in area. Unfortunately due to lack of funding the library becomes the hub for outdated materials, and research has found that this negatively effects grades of students. Study shows that schools who fully fund libraries students make better grades and perform better on standardized test. There is a long-term effect associated with the lack of library resources in which is not beneficial to students. These budget cuts in school media centers are creating a large gap to road of achievement amongst students. 

Opinion:
I resonate with this article considering I recently moved to California and landed a job at a middle school in which I love. Unfortunately, shortly after being hired I received an email about possible budget cuts and library being at top of list. This truly saddens me that legislators have failed to realize significance of library and resources in which it offers. Hopefully, educators will bind together and show proof as to why the library is important to students educational experience. 

A Holistic Approach to Supporting Academic Libraries in Resource Allocation Processes

Zatko, Ruzena

 

Siguenza-Guzman, L., Van den Abbeele, A., et al. (2015). A holistic approach to supporting academic libraries in resource allocation processes. The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy, 85(3), 295-318. doi: 10.1086/681612

 

 

Summary

 

In this article, we see what harsh reality the library can be faced with when the budget gets cut. In these situations its imperative to obtain grants, donations, etc. With the digital collection and demand for eBooks on the rise, it is becoming even more expensive to have an impressive variety available for patrons. Having a theoretically budget plan is a great start. With the use of LibQual the library can also be aware of what patrons think of the library and what needs improvement. Overall, this paper cover a broad range of topics in operating a successful academic library. It also suggests a qualitative method of measuring the collection, budget, and other data.

 

 

 

Evaluation

 

The great point in this article that although the library is 'free', the material costs money. If a budget is cut or lost, the library hasn't a fund to upkeep itself. There was a suggestion made using a qualitative method in order to measure how the library is doing. With the proper statistics the library can make a sound decision on how to proceed in numerous scenarios'. The article expresses the importance of  constantly evaluating and analyzing the collection and library itself, to see how its doing and what needs to be weeded. This is especially important in case there are budget cuts and the library needs to endure setbacks.