Our Annual Report for 2025-2026

Something kept nagging me to create an annual report this year, even as summer arrived. I'm glad I listened.

Since returning to public school librarianship this year after 5 years away from the profession, I've been doing a lot of reflecting now that the school year has come to a close. At first, I didn't consider creating an annual report. In the past I used Microsoft Sway for library annual reports. I had almost talked myself out of it since summer is here. The results took me down a path of inspiration that I didn't expect. I'll explain more about how it impacted me to go down this thought path.


Being my first year back, I was overwhelmed with the K-12 schedule. We had many celebrations through the year, increased circulation, steady foot traffic, some powerful community building through RTI programming, and even some collaborations with teachers (one that resulted in an Outsiders program based on the S.E. Hinton novel!). I started writing these thoughts down and realized a lot of work had taken place during the school year. I simply had to get it in a report to share. But what platform should I use?

Choosing a Platform

After using Canva for many signs and slideshow presentations this year, I explored the Canva Sites option. This reminded me of the Sway platform I used for years. This was an easy choice after I saw the templates.

I chose to share our library statistics, library collaborations for the year, and class visits made in the library. It is good to be mindful that stakeholders are busy (especially administrators), and they probably will not look through a really long report. I've found that some administrators might expect a more detailed annual report. 

This year the library logged 242 class visits and circulated 6123 items — numbers I wouldn't have fully realized without going through this process. 


I included lots of photos from the school year to show a variety of activities happening in the library. The more I played with the Canva Site, the more it developed. Is it perfect? No. Does it share the basic info that gives a solid return on the investment of the stakeholders? I believe so. It is my first report in over 5 years. I will keep developing the formatting and information shared as I move forward each year.

Final Thoughts

Over the past many years, I've worked for four school districts as a library media specialist. The superintendents I've worked for have been impacted by the sharing of a library annual report. I can recall them making comments about our library statistics after I had shared the report.  Keep in mind that a district superintendent is like a CEO of a company. They are interested in seeing evidence of efficient use of funding and personnel. If we don't tell them, they most likely won't know. Don't be afraid to share the work you do. This is not bragging. It is showing value and relevance. Going down this thought path made me feel very proud of what our learning community accomplished this year. If I wouldn't have created a report, I would have missed out on that good feeling that comes from such reflection. I strongly encourage you to do the same. 

What do you include in your annual report? Be sure to share comments and links to your annual report in the comments below!


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