What to Do When Your Budget is Cut: Part Two

Money has really been tight for education lately. Every year, my budget gets cut a bit more than the last year. I have been racking my brain trying to come up with new ways to fundraise. I would love to hear your stories about how you were able to get extra money for your library.

1. Alternatives to Facts on File- The databases included in our school package are terrific, but the cost of $800+ is something we can't afford. The Facts on File databases we had were: World Geography and Culture Online, American History Online, Modern World History Online, American Women's History Online, African American History Online, American Indian History Online, Ancient and Medieval History Online, Science Online, Fergusen's Career Guidance Center, Bloom's Literary Reference Online and the Curriculum Resource Center.  I currently have created 119 pathfinders which cover everything from African American Scientists and Inventors to Young Adult Authors. Students know that I have chosen all the links so that they can trust them.

Several databases from EBSCO, which are provided for free for us from the NJ State Library:  Student Research Center, Literary Reference Center, Points of View, Funk and Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia and Novelist Plus. If your school doesn't have direct access to EBSCO, try your public library and maybe students can enter through their site by using individual library card numbers.This year I noticed that we no longer have three important databases: History Reference Center, Science Reference Center and Business Source Premier. Even the free stuff is being cut!

2. Alternatives to magazine and newspaper subscriptions- We used to subscribe to about 24 magazines, and I will be forced to weed out about half. BUT.....I was very happy to find that many of them including Consumer Reports, (full text 1991-present) TIME, (full text 1990-present) American History (full text 1994-present) plus many more are available through EBSCO.  Many magazines have web sites, (another choice) but you can't always find full text articles there. Digital subscriptions cost money. Now, all this online viewing brings up another problem: without any computers available, how do students read online? I wonder how schools with iPads are utilizing them. If you are one of those schools, I'd love to hear from you.

Our school is fortunate to receive free access to the digital editions of The New York Times and our local county paper, The Record. Unlike the web sites, this digital edition is like reading the actual newspaper, page by page. Check and see what local newspapers have to offer your school.

3. Amazon School Rewards- For the past two years, we have been using Amazon School Rewards to raise money without asking people to open their wallets. Simply by entering the site through our link, we receive advertising fees based on what items are purchased. I chose for us to receive that money in the form of gift cards, which I then purchased books with by entering the site through our link. The more people you get on board, the more money you will make.

4. Raffle- Two years ago, our library raffled off an iPod Touch and made a profit close to $200.00. The following year we did an iPad2. It may seem like small change, but the hundreds add up.

5. Grants- Writing grants takes a lot of skill, which is why there are people hired who do nothing other than write grants. Here are some resources for writing grants:
Grant Writing Resources -from About.com

Grantwriters.com

Guide to Writing a Funding Proposal
Writing a Grant Proposal- extensive information from Columbia University

If you would like to start looking for grants right now, try these sites:
Classwish- teachers create their own wish lists for classroom supplies; donors assist in the purchase
Digital Wish- various subject areas available, from art to writing
DonorsChoose- submit your request and donors can choose your school and contribute to your project
Donors Forum- tips on fundraising and more; free webinars
Education Funding Watch
GivingGetting- donors are linked with school in need

NEA Foundation Grants to Educators

New Jersey Office of Grants Management

The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation- designated for instrumental music education in schools.

Target Field Trip Grants-  since 2007 they have awarded $9.76 million dollars in grants!

Touching Lives Through Theatre Grants

6. Fundraising- It can be candy, cookies, wrapping paper or an event at your school. Having my library council kids sell items is not on my to-do list. During the school year, students have to sell for their classes. It seems that at any given time there is some kind of fundraiser going on. I personally stay away from this type of fundraising. But there are other ways that school libraries can raise money:

• Birthday Book Club- create your own wish list and have parents purchase one of those books to honor their child's birthday. (This works for the younger grades--  older grades can just have a wish list of books.) The donor's name will be placed on a bookplate.
• Auction Author-Signed Books- if you are able to get a well-known author to sign copies of their book, you can then have an auction or raffle to raise money.
• Scholastic Book Fair- for elementary grade schools; the library can earn money based on the number of books sold.
• Box Tops for Education- usually used for grades K-6; school community collects these labels from various foods and purchases can be made from over 400 stores.
• Sponsor an Event- how about pudding wrestling or a talent show? I was thinking about a tamer version of MTV's Silent Library. Think out of the box and be creative!
• Book Sale- when you weed your collection, you can always have a book sale. (Donated paperbacks are great to add)

***What do YOU do to stretch your dollars? Please comment below.***

The Ups and Downs of Downsizing

Oh boy. Just found out today that the library will be losing close to one third of its space. Offices. Classrooms. Study space. Not sure what, but all I know is that reorganization, more weeding and moving hundreds of books will be taking place very soon. Am I angry? Of course not. We just don't have enough space, and thanks to all the huge budget cuts (and lack of that "angel benefactor" we need) there simply is no other choice but to cut into the library's space. So today I began the arduous and painful task of more weeding and moving stacks and stacks of our books to make room for the demolition. Giving away five sets of encyclopedias to various classrooms is where I started.

Day 2. I've been trying to get teachers to take books to their classrooms as opposed to throwing them out. A few have come down and taken some books, but the majority are either not interested, don't have room for them or travel to many rooms and don't have a home base. Just heard from the custodians that I can't have any more garbage barrels because the dumpster is full. As I write this, I can see the piles of books on the table, and I'm only halfway through the reference section. I feel for those books. I have also run out of dusting cloths. (I purchase my own Swiffers because they are the best) Years of dust have greeted me with every shelf that I empty.

I began working on redesigning the floor-plan since things were about to change with my square footage. I found an online program called Floor Planner, and began to create a 3D model of our space.(It's free)

Day 3. I'm sore all over from lifting and moving and bending and stretching. I'm going to do other things today like deleting barcodes and updating the collection. I just read an article in School Library Journal about survey results involving spending. At the moment I am amazed that my budget is FAR below the $$ listed (median) for a high school. My fundraising has still not been able to put me at that number. Is anyone else out there feeling the sting of this survey? Projected changes in budget $$ for the northeast (I'm in NJ) for next year are -1.8%.

So I guess you are asking yourself when I am going to mention the ups of downsizing. Any type of cleaning can be therapeutic, you know? Getting the shelves all neat and in order, eliminating books which have sat for decades since they were last used. In the end, the library will be streamlined, clean and ready to service all who enter. Too optimistic? Maybe. Do you have a similar situation in your school? Please share in the comments section. I'd like to know I'm in good company.

When Your School Library Budget is Slashed

Money has really been tight for education lately. Every year, my budget gets cut a bit more than the last year. In New Jersey, our "beloved" governor took millions away and the pain of cuts has continued into the 2011-2012 school year. I have around 70% less than last year, and now my game plan has changed. Are you in the same situation? I bet you are. I have decided to share with you some of the things I'm doing this year to provide free resources to replace those we lost.

1. Alternatives to Facts on File- The databases included in our school package are terrific, but the cost of $800+ is something we can't afford. The Facts on File databases we had were: World Geography and Culture Online, American History Online, Modern World History Online, American Women's History Online, African American History Online, American Indian History Online, Ancient and Medieval History Online, Science Online, Fergusen's Career Guidance Center, Bloom's Literary Reference Online and the Curriculum Resource Center. Here's what free online resources I'll be recommending which our students and staff could use. Many are pathfinders I have created with sites I have already cleared for student use. They include:

African-American History- African-American Scientist and Inventors Pathfinder, Apartheid Pathfinder, Black History Month Pathfinder, Civil Rights Pathfinder, The Harlem Renaissance Pathfinder, Martin Luther King, Jr. Pathfinder, Slavery Pathfinder

Career Resources Pathfinder

Medieval Times Pathfinder

Women in History Pathfinder

Several databases from EBSCO, which are provided for free for us from the NJ State Library:  Student Research Center, Literary Reference Center, Points of View, History Reference Center, Science Reference Center, Business Source Premier, Funk and Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia and Novelist Plus. If your school doesn't have direct access to EBSCO, try your public library and maybe students can enter through their site by using individual library card numbers.

2. Alternatives to magazine and newspaper subscriptions- We used to subscribe to about 24 magazines, and I will be forced to weed out about half. BUT.....I was very happy to find that many of them including Consumer Reports, (full text 1991-present) TIME, (full text 1990-present) American History (full text 1994-present) plus many more are available through EBSCO.  Many magazines have web sites, (another choice) but you can't always find full text articles there. Digital subscriptions cost money. Now, all this online viewing brings up another problem: without any computers available, how do students read online? I wonder how schools with iPads are utilizing them. If you are one of those schools, I'd love to hear from you.

Our school is fortunate to receive free access to the digital editions of The New York Times and our local county paper, The Record. Unlike the web sites, this digital edition is like reading the actual newspaper, page by page. I just applied for USA Today Classroom Newspaper Grants. Check and see what local newspapers have to offer your school.

3. Amazon School Rewards- For the past two years, we have been using Amazon School Rewards to raise money without asking people to open their wallets. Simply by entering the site through our link, we receive advertising fees based on what items are purchased. I chose for us to receive that money in the form of gift cards, which I then purchased books with by entering the site through our link. The more people you get on board, the more money you will make.

4. Raffle- Last year our library raffled off an iPod Touch and made a profit close to $200.00. This year's item will either be an iPad or an XBox 360, depending on the results of a poll we are taking. It may seem like small change, but the hundreds add up.

What YOU doing to stretch your dollars? Please comment below.

How's Your 2011-2012 Library Budget? Please Help Me With a Short Survey

I'm conducting a survey (very short one) to see how much your school library budget has changed from last year. If you are a teacher-librarian or media specialist in a school with 1200-1400 students, please take 5 minutes to help me out HERE. I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!!

Julie