Library budgets


School library budgets – the bigger picture


The library is facing an uncertain future in some schools due to the never-ending threat of budget cuts. Karen Horsfield, treasurer of the School Library Association, argues that the school library is unique in its ability to support teaching and learning and gives some tips to help make ends meet


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anaging any budget can be as frustrating as solving a Rubik’s cube. As one part seems to fall into place something else drops out of kilter. Ultimately something has to go. In the case


of the Rubik’s Cube, it is simple – just throw it away. A school budget presents slightly more of a dichotomy. What can be reduced? What can the school manage without? Which items can be considered optional? – financial services, equalities and diversity, the school library?


“Without a library champion to plan, collect data, create documentation and


communicate the case for the benefits of an active school library, the subject never gets properly aired”


The harsh reality is that we need all of them but in a climate of


dwindling revenues and the never-ending threat of budget cuts some tough decisions have to be made. The previous government focused on the value of literacy, which can empower learners of all ages and change their lives forever. The school library


is a major link in a chain of events that should start at birth and continue throughout life. The Labour government stated that school libraries are “an invaluable asset and a source of real enjoyment and learning to children”. Yet there is no statutory requirement in England for schools to have one. Ironically prisons have to be provided with a library but a school does not. Some primary schools provide a real reading culture with an exciting


range of attractive books in a well-stocked, efficiently managed library. They have the vision and they find the budget. However, in other schools library use and funding are moot points as there are a myriad of necessities to gobble up the precious budget. Without a library champion to plan, collect data, create documentation and communicate the case for the benefits of an active school library, the subject never gets properly aired. It is all very easy for the library to be considered optional, a moveable feast whereby it falls into a downward spiral of neglect and decay. Research commissioned by Booktrust indicates that there is great


diversity in budget allocation when it comes to primary school libraries and resource provision. Some very large primary schools spend very little on their library while smaller ones have a comparatively generous budget. In 2006/07 the average library budget was £2,682. A 2006 report by Ofsted, Good School Libraries: making a


difference to learning, concluded that: “Leadership by a supportive and knowledgeable headteacher and senior managers was the most important factor in improving library provision. They recognised how libraries contributed to teaching and learning.”


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