Budget and Resources
Action Items:
By 2026, we will:
Conduct a diversity audit of our print collection to assess how well our current collection represents a variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and interests. This audit will be used as a tool for future purchasing decisions to ensure the library is offering a well-rounded collection of reading choices for students of various reading/developmental levels.
Develop a "Kits" collection/circulation type to encourage exploratory learning beyond the library, and to continue increasing circulation of our nonfiction reading resources.
Summary
The Lakewood School Library Team is committed to ongoing collection development and maintenance in order to meet our mission statement and goals. The funding for the Lakewood School Library primarily comes from the WI state Common School Fund (CSF), but also from book fairs and other fundraising efforts. Please see the Lakewood School Library Collection Development Policy and Collection Data below to learn more about our budget and resources.
Collection Development Policies & Manual
Library Policies within the School Board Policy Manual
Lakewood School Library Print Collection Data:
The following data is taken from the library inventory completed July 2023.
Items in Collection: 16,097
Average Age of Collection: 2009
Books per Student: 37.5 (based on an enrollment number of 400 students)
Lakewood School Library Digital Collection Data:
Prior to the end of the 2019-2020 school year, only 1% of the Lakewood School Library's collection was made up of digital resources.
At the end of the 2019-2020 school year, WI school libraries receiving CSF project money were granted an extra sum to be spent on digital resources to support student access to library materials in the months ahead. Per the recommendation of the WI DPI School Library Education Consultant, the Lakewood School Library used this money to join the Wisconsin Schools Digital Library Consortium (WSDLC). The WSDLC provides participating members with access to a collection of thousands of e-books and audiobooks curated by certified K-12 Library Media Specialists from throughout the state. The cost is determined by participating schools' student enrollment, and the materials are made available through the Overdrive app for K-12 Schools called "Sora."
During the first 2 years of implementing the Wisconsin Digital Library Consortium, we have seen the circulation of 5,990 materials on Sora.
125 of digital resources (ebooks/audiobooks) were items funded in our advantage account, and 50,200 items were made available to students through our participation in the WSDLC, which costs under $2 per student for one year.
In the same 2 years, 12,503 print books were circulated through the Lakewood School Library. This means that almost exactly 1/3 of our circulations were digital materials (ebooks and audiobooks) during this time.
Our introduction of the Sora app, alongside our participation in the WSDLC has been wildly successful for the following reasons:
Students have access to a broader range of titles
Students have access to alternative formats such as ebooks, audiobooks, and read-along books, which support accessibility for students with learning differences
Students are able to check out reading materials more frequently, including weekends, holidays, interims, and summers
When titles are purchased, students are able to access materials almost immediately, and don't have to wait for materials to be shipped, and processed into the library collection