Library Media Tech Talk

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 dow...

For the past several years, we have used Microsoft Sway for our platform to share library annual reports. Previous to this, I essentially shared a one-sheet text document that contained our statistics. It was a rather boring way to share the report, but it worked for many years. I like how Sway allows us to share important photos, videos, and text with library stakeholders! View our 2018-2019 annual report here. While there are many things that library programs do throughout the year, somehow we have to give our stakeholders a snapshot of the year in our reports. We want them to end the year thinking about how the library program made a difference in the learning community. Most importantly, we want to give them a return on their investment in the facilities, resources, and our own salaries!  What I Share Some years I've shared more information while for some I've cut back on how much I include in the report. At a minimum, I try to share our library stati...

I've been sharing library annual reports since I have been a school librarian. Administrators often get small snapshots of the library during the school year. They are busy people pulled in a million different directions each day. For me, sharing an annual report during the summer gives us a chance to show our administration what happens in the library from a statistical perspective. Administrators are also more likely to have a moment to look at a report during the summer months. A screenshot from the completed Sway Why Share Annual Reports? Annual reports are just another way to tell our stories from the library and share the value of what we do for students. It also gives a return on our stakeholders' investment. Libraries are expensive. If we share circulation statistics and other usage information, it can help change perspectives. Some teacher librarians have complained that their administrators don't have time to view their reports. This is a valid concern, b...

Why I Will Include Twitter Analytics To Our Library Statistical Reports I have been making an effort to be more active on Twitter since the summer of 2014. In that time, the benefit has been a phenomenal growth in my Professional Learning Network (PLN). The largest growth has taken place during the participation in Twitter education chats . It has been wonderful to connect with educators all over the country and world on a consistent basis. The use of Twitter has also driven substantial traffic to this library blog. A blog is an important advocacy tool for libraries since it is a record of our journey. Twitter is also a great advocacy tool because it allows your followers to see snapshots of what you are doing, 140 characters at at time. If you use hashtags that school librarians check frequently, your work will be seen around the country. A few common school library hashtags: #tlchat (Teacher Librarian Chat) #txlchat (Texas Librarian Chat) #mwlibchat (Midwest Teacher Librarian...

Last year, I wrote an article about the importance of annual library reporting to school administrators. I have tried to send some form of an annual report each of the seven years I have served as a school library media specialist. Remember that your bosses are viewing data constantly. Principals and superintendents see value in budgets, test scores, student enrollment numbers, and even faculty absence statistics. When you send a report to them, it gives a snapshot of what you are doing in the library. Many people tend to think this is a waste of their time, but I disagree. Many times over the past seven years, I have had both superintendents and principals talk about our statistics. They remember these numbers because the statistics reflect usage of many different services. This gives a return on their investment! If you don't share these numbers with them, how will they know? I converted our annual report to a .JPG file, so I could easily display it here on the blog page. (...