Testimonial to the Resource Alignment Process

Hi Cheryl,
I don't think I saved the pictures.  I will tell you that I believe my
study for resource alignments really was beneficial to me and the media
center.  First of all, it gave me a deep understanding of what my
collection should have and what a current collection might look like.

I did share my data with my administrators.  At the time, I really felt
like they had said to me "that's nice, but..."  However, my curriculum
coordinator a couple years ago wrote a grant to fund the public and
school library to the tune of $25,000 and we got it (shared with public
library).  This was also the beginning of a very successful sharing
program with the public library which has allowed me to expand my
collection and update it's currency without spending additional dollars.

Then last year, my superintendent applied for funds from the Casino
revenue for $7000 to update our collection and we got that.  Mr.
Sherman's comment was that we could reapply for it each year (This
thought has probably changed with the economy).

My last great surprise came when a bunch of kids wrote essays about
needing books for libraries.  So in December 2009 we got a gift of
$10,000 for updating our fiction (some non fiction) collection.

My resource alignment plan allowed me to have a jump start on where I
needed to spend the funds.  Perhaps, none of this was tied to the data I
shared with my administration, but I think it was and that we started to
look outside our school budget for ways to fund media materials.
Incidentally,  I was able to do some much needed weeding without the
shock value of empty shelves.

Who knows what the future will bring, but I have been able to put
quality print material in the hands of our patrons and have a group of
reluctant readers (mostly boys in high school) recommending additional
books to purchase.

Good luck with the class, let me know if I can ever be of assistance.
It was good to hear from you.
Donna Ellingson
Lake Mills Community Schools