It is sad to see the demise of audio books at the school I work at but as there is no demand for them, they have become an obsolete technology. Where once funds were allocated for them they can be redirected into more DVDs or perhaps into purchasing e-books for the library.
Every year the TL needs to evaluate the collection and see where there is high demand and high use, and where other items are neglected and dusty. Items need evaluating to see where the collection is over-represented or deficient. If this information can be shown to the funding body it gives clout to the TL's budgetary claims.
I like the idea Robyn Young (2008) has of using charts and graphs to visually represent the budget and to represent such relationships as the price of an average book versus the amount spent on books per student for the year. Also the number of resources per topic per student in each curriculum area is an important evaluation tool.
Clearly, the TL needs to know his/her collection. They need to make funding decisions based on balancing the collection and providing a range of resources for the curriculum. The TL must keep a close eye on incoming items, checking them off against invoices and making sure she is aware of how much of the budget is available at any time of year. It's not easy and there will be mistakes, so keeping a good record system helps and some computing systems are available to manage this. I don't know how it all works at the local secondary school, but the TL assures me she has a generous budget and I often see her ticking things off a list when they come in. Hopefully one day I will be privy to the budgeting process.
Reference: Young, R.R. (2008). Eight Easy Steps to Maintain and Increase the Library Media Centre Budget. Library Media Connection. Jan
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