Library Planning Information

Contents of Information:

• Library Planning Information
  1.1 District Library Plans
  1.2 Charter School Library Plans
  1.3 County Office Library Plans
  1.4 Steps to Develop or Update the Plan
  2 Use of the Funds
  3 Resources for Planning
  4 Fiscal Information
  5 Acceptable and Unacceptable Uses of the Funds

• The Classroom Library Act (Repealed)
  6 Classroom Library Fiscal Information
  7 Uses of kindergarten through grade four Classroom Library Act Funds
  

1. The Library Plans

1.1 District Library Plans

To receive Library Act funding a current, local governing board-approved school library plan must be available(Education Code §18180-18185). While the funds are apportioned based on the prior year ADA (P2 Report), they are distributed within the district based on this plan. Funds can only be dispersed to those schools that have a dedicated library space . (Education Code §18183)

1.2 Charter School Library Plans

In order to receive funds, a direct funded charter school must apply on its own behalf, i.e. develop a library plan approved by its own board and submit certification of such. All other charter schools (not direct funded) should work with their charter-authorizing agency to include the charter school in the district library plan. Library Act funds are not part of charter school block grant funding. First year charter schools are not eligible to receive library funding until their second year of operation because the apportionment is based on prior year ADA.

1.3 County Office Library Plans

County office of education library plans will differ from district library plans due to the nature of the programs operated by county offices. While the funding will be apportioned based on enrollment, not all programs will find it appropriate to develop school libraries. County programs that receive Library Act funds should have a dedicated library space on the program site.

1.4 Steps to Develop or Update the Library Plan

• THE TEAM
  Convene a district team that includes a member of the governing board, site representation from principals, teachers, parents, library media teachers, library technicians, etc. The more inclusive the better. Continue to meet on a regular basis.
• PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE
  Involve a credentialed library media teacher on the district planning team.
• SCHEDULE Calendar the planning activities to fit realistically with the Consolidated Application timeline.
• SCOPE
  The Library Act funding cannot meet all the needs of an effective school library program. It is recommended that the district library plan address staffing, facilities, library program and the collection even though Library Act funds support only collection development. The planning team could organize the plan around the eight goals of Check It Out! Assessing School Library Media Programs (CDE, 1998) .
• PLANNING for LIMITED FUNDING
  Suggestions for districts and individual school sites:
  • 1. Prioritize needs and develop a purchase plan that will address those that are the most pressing.
  • 2. Evaluate the collection and develop a plan that will provide resources in a few targeted areas.
  • 3. Develop a collection project that will support one or two specific curriculum areas.
  • 4. Focus purchases on new literature titles that support the reading program.
  • 5. Add only critical new reference materials to the collection.
• FORMAT AND CONTENT
  While format and content for a plan may be determined by the district library planning team, the library plan should include at least the following components:
  • 1. Vision statement for libraries of the district
    
  • 2. Progress toward goals of prior approved library plan
  • 3. Updated goals
  • 4. Action steps including how allocation will be distributed

   

Questions:

• Ask:

  • Is the plan practical?
  • On what basis are the Library Act funds distributed among eligible schools in the district?
  • Are the selection, ordering, and processing procedures for library materials addressed in the plan?
  • Have individual school sites developed site library plans based upon the district plan?
  • Have charter schools (not direct funded) been involved in the district planning process?
  • What parts of the plan are addressed by the Library Act funds and what parts of the plan are addressed by district funds?

  Direct Funded Charter Schools

  Ask:

  • If the library plan is first a board information item and then a board action item, when does it have to be submitted to the board?

  Ask:

  • Where do you want to be?
  • Where are you now?
  • What can you realistically do this year?
  • How are you going to get there?
  • What will it take to make this work?
  • Who will do what?

  Suggestion:

  Give the district fiscal office a copy of the district library plan for audit purposes.

2. Use of the Funds

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3. Resources for Planning

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California Department of Education: Barbara Jeffus, School Library Consultant, 916-319-0445.

California Department of Education Fiscal and Accounting Assistance: Shirley Burkett, Apportionment Analyst, 916-323-1385, School Fiscal Services, regarding the apportionment.

California School Library Association Web site offers links to key library documents, staff development opportunities, and more. Particularly helpful on this site for planning teams is Good Ideas , published annually to spotlight quality school library programs. Planning team visits to these programs can be extremely helpful. California School Library Association (Outside Source).

Check It Out! Assessing School Library Media Programs, a CDE document, is designed to help districts and schools assess and improve their school libraries and the policies that support and guide them. It provides a recommended series of questions, based on nationally developed guidelines for school library media centers, for consideration by education policy and implementation teams. Publications

Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning contains national standards for school library media centers, particularly as they pertain to student learning. Emphasis is placed on collaboration, leadership, and the use of technology. Call 800-545-2433, then press 7, or see American Association of School Librarians (Outside Source).

Literature for Science and Mathematics : Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve offers an annotated collection of recommended literature in the content areas of science and mathematics.

A Planning Guide for Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning with School Library Media Program Assessment Rubric for the 21st Century is particularly helpful when the school library program is evaluated as part of the teaching and learning environment. Call 800-545-2433, then press 7, or see American Association of School Librarians (Outside Source).

Reinvent Your School's Library In the Age Of Technology: A Guide for Principals and Superintendents, by Dr. David Loertscher, was made available to school administrators through county offices of education in 1998. It is designed as a short course for administrators who want to maximize the impact of all information technologies in the support of teaching and learning, with emphasis on the library program. Additional copies are available for purchase from LMC Source 800.873.3043; catalog available at LMC Source (Outside Source).

School Library Media Impact Studies provides evidence based on research studies conducted in Alaska, Colorado, and Pennsylvania in 2000 that students perform better on standardized tests when they have access to a well-stocked school library staffed with certificated school library media teachers. It is published by Colorado Library Research Studies (LRS) and is available online at Library Research Service (Outside Source).

Standards and Guidelines for Strong School Libraries by the California School Library Association. This 2004 publication brings together in text, tables, and bibliographies topics such as facilities, resources, staffing, and information literacy. To view the table of contents, sample pages, and ordering information see California School Library Association (Outside Source).

Where Do I Start? A School Library Handbook by the Santa Clara County Office of Education is a practical handbook covering staffing, policies, library organization, collection development, public relations/marketing, programs, technology, procedures, and library automation. Forms and sample policies are included, as well as an extensive glossary of library terms and a detailed index. Linworth Publishing, 2000.

When Your Library Budget Is Almost Zero , by Lesley S.J. Farmer is a practical guide to help librarians face a budget gap and plan an appropriate course of action within budgetary constraints. Available from Libraries Unlimited.

4. Fiscal Information

Source: California School Accounting Manual

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4.1   Account Codes

With the Standardized Account Code Structure (SACS), the Library Act funding should be coded to Resource 6296, Revenue Object 8590. This funding is to be accounted for as an entitlement. Expenditures with Library Act funds utilize the following object codes:
4200 - Library books and other reference materials
4300 - Periodical subscriptions; videos
4400 - Noncapitalizable equipment
5800 - Online subscription services
6300 - Books and media for new school libraries or major expansion of school libraries
6400 - Equipment
7300 - Indirect Costs
8998 - Restricted Redirect Transfers

Library Act funds are audited as per Standards and Procedures for Audits of California Kindergarten through Grade Twelve Educational Agencies (PDF; 940KB; 206pp. Outside source)

4.2 Funding Period

Each year's apportionment should be encumbered within a three-year period. For example, the apportionment for FY 2002-2003 should be spent by June 30, 2005. The funds received in FY1998-1999 and FY1999-2000 should be fully expended at this time. If not, a written justification Justification and Request (25KB; 1p.) must be submitted.

4.3 Indirect Costs

Indirect costs may be taken at an amount no greater than that determined as the state-approved district percentage. Indirect cost information and rates for local education agencies are posted at Indirect Cost Rate Information.

4.4 Restricted Redirect Transfers

Schools were given (with some exceptions) access to 100% of restricted reserves available as of June 30, 2003. No budget flexibility provisions were given for 2004-2005.

5. Acceptable and Unacceptable Uses of Kindergarten through Grade Twelve Library Act Funds

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For the purpose of the Library Act, library resources are materials that are used in, circulated from, or networked from the school site library media center. This funding may also be used to purchase the equipment necessary to provide access to school library resources within the library media center. In response to frequent questions the examples in Section 4 have been expanded by the addition of actual products. The examples are provided to illustrate only and do not represent all products available.

6. The following information pertains to the Kindergarten through Grade Four Classroom Library Materials Act

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The Kindergarten through Grade Four Classroom Library Act- New information for 2004-2005

The kindergarten through grade four Classroom Library Act was repealed. Districts should account for kindergarten through grade four Classroom Library funds until all have been expended. Classroom library materials may be purchased with the new Instructional Materials Block Grant after all students have been provided with standards-aligned textbooks in all four core areas (reading-language arts, mathematics, science, history-social science). If a district uses the Instructional Materials funds for purchasing classroom library materials, it is required to develop a board-approved district-wide classroom library plan for kindergarten through grade four. See Education Code §60242 (d) (1)(2)(3) for details.

Fiscal Information

6.1 Account Codes

For those districts still spending kindergarten through grade four Classroom Library Act funds and using the Standardized Account Code Structure (SACS), the California Classroom Library Materials funding should be coded to Resource 6292, Revenue Object 8590. For those still using the old accounting codes, use Income Account Code 8590. This funding is an entitlement.

6.2 Funding Period

Each year's apportionment should have been encumbered within a three-year period. A written justification Justification and Request (25KB; 1p.) should be submitted and approved for expenditures from kindergarten through grade four Classroom Library Act funds.

6.3 Indirect Costs

Indirect costs may be taken at an amount no greater than that determined as the state-approved district percentage. Indirect cost information and rates for local education agencies are posted at: Indirect Cost Rates

7. Examples, Use of Kindergarten through Grade Four Classroom Library Funds

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