A small scale UK survey carried out in early 2010 with one branch of the School Library Association

1. What’s yours ? ~ a quick look at school library budgets Geoff Dubber Education, Libraries & Learning & Past Chair of the School Library Association geoff [email_address] www.geoffdubber.co.uk £

2. BECTa QCDA GTC BSF AS levels ? Swept away ! School Library Budgets cuts - By how much ? When ? For how long ? Where ? With what impact ? 25% cuts ?? 40% cuts ??

3. 2005 – HMCI report David Bell Ref. 2005-14 Another main issue is that of under-funding which leads to inadequate book provision to support the number of pupils in the school and the breadth of the curriculum March 2006 Good School Libraries Ref. HMI 2624 Funding for libraries varied markedly.. the survey found a direct link between well funded libraries and effectiveness….. We all know it, but it’s worth quoting again.. and again…… !

4. Hence my simple survey.. that I hope will g r o w The amount of money that a school invests in its library on an annual basis has always been one good indicator of the standing of the library within the school and the potential that the library has to support the curriculum and help to raise aspiration and achievement. & empower colleagues ! I believe

5. Excellent 82 page report from Book Trust (with a little help from Kathy Lemaire at the SLA) October 2007 : Library Books in Schools www.booktrusted.co.uk/schoollibraries/Booktrust%20%20final%20report% 20V4.pdf 92% of secondary schools & 61% of primary schools are spending far below the recommended figure per head on books for their libraries 45 librarians, 9 English regions Phone survey

6. Book Trust Report….. (October 2007) P38 secondary school libraries Estimated library spend was only £4 per student No year on year increase was noted in most schools & on average Only 66% of the budget was allocated to books for loan.

7. £££££ official secret! ssssssh ! Budgets can be a sensitive subject within & between schools How much do you get ? – um..well.. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t name the school, the head wouldn’t be happy I am very happy for you to use any or all of the documents, but would be grateful for anonymity

8. but figures at your fingertips are power to your elbow ! I was very interested in the survey results and would like to pass them to my SLT to prove that my budget is very much at the bottom of the list ! Email to me 16 June 2010

9. What do others get then ? ….. Just to show you some differences do take a look at the handout of a random collection of schools (BUD43) Which school gives its LRC the most ? the least ? - per student

11. Inflation/Retail Price Index £100 in 2002 now worth £120 20 % increase http://safalra.com/other/historical-uk-inflation-price-conversion/

12. See also...... 15 sec. school library budgets I gathered in 2007/8 from all parts of the country (BUD43) (probably obtained from SLN comments) Average per student here was.. £5.07 per student

15. Averages: 8 schools - State sector.. average per student Berks branch survey ~ £ 6.60 £6. 64 ! cf with 2003 figure from Book Trust – £ 5.54 +20% =

16. Averages: 4 schools - Independent sector.. average per student Berks branch survey ~ £14.49 But only a very small sample so not really representative

17. What will it buy ? Average price of books ( Ap- Nov 2009 ). Data from SLA website supplied by Peters Library Book Suppliers…………… http://www.sla.org.uk/mbr_advisory-notes.php?i=2 Children’s hardback F ~ £ 8.93} paperback F ~ £ 4.58} av £6.75 hardback NF ~ £11.68} paperback NF ~ £ 6.79} av £9.23

18. How many books do you need to buy or borrow from your SLS to maintain & develop your book stock, never mind all the other resources that you need to buy to have a vibrant and effective library service serving the learning and teaching needs of your extensive range of customers ???? How many “new” books come through your library in an average academic year ?????????

19. Holt Jackson figures for March 2010 Hardback & Paperback average Adult Fiction: £ 9.99 Adult Non-fiction £19.10 Children’s Fiction £ 6.61 (Peters £6.75) Children’s Non-fiction £ 8.90 (Peters £9.23) http://www.holtjackson.co.uk/cgi-perl/web_avg_book_price.pl

20. Book Trust report July 2007 p39 In 2006/7 in the 45 schools surveyed ……… 66% of the secondary school budget was spent on books allocated for loan… SLA branch figures (p4 ) of GD report of the 10 schools that provided data 54.1% was spent on books..

21. So where are we in relation to school budgets ? IFLA School Library guidelines As a general rule the school library material should be at least 5% of the per student expenditure of the school, exclusive of salaries, special education expenses transportation and capital improvement costs

22. DCSF (DfE) figures for 2009/10 Funding per pupil aged 3- 19 REAL TERMS I think this will cover all costs………… Wokingham LA £4,550 South East Region £4,660 England £4,860 (Up 12% from 2005/6) - has your library budget gone up by 12% in that time ?

23. Comparisons…. £6.60p spent per student on the library is 0.1434% of the total school budget allocated to each pupil in the South East Region (given the sample figures I have available )

24. I rest my case ……………