Librarians proving – As school library funding stagnates, librarians are turning to circulation trends, collection analysis, and diversity metrics to demonstrate measurable student engagement—and to win money for expanding resources beyond just books.
The library didn’t feel quiet the day the numbers changed.
It started with something simple: librarians pulled historical usage reports built from checkouts, holds, and returns. Then they turned those patterns into goal posters for students to see as soon as they walked through the doors. The message was no longer abstract. It was visible—who was borrowing, how often, and how that activity was shifting over time.
For Jennifer Miller. a teacher librarian who has spent 20 years working with middle schoolers. that moment of proof has become part of the job. Libraries, she said in her advocacy work, are more than a place where students occasionally pick up a book. They support classroom curriculum, spark curiosity and creativity, and strengthen vital literacy skills. Studies cited in her reporting have found a positive correlation between strong school library programs and higher standardized test scores. improved graduation rates. and stronger academic performance even when controlling for factors like socioeconomic status.
But the challenge on the ground is that school library money is not keeping pace with the role libraries play.
In 2024, the average amount spent on library media center (LMC) programming was only $12 per student. Restrictions on what those dollars can be allocated to have made purchasing anything outside of books almost impossible. With funding pressured like that. Miller said librarians are increasingly forced to look beyond their own districts—48 percent of library funding comes from external partners.
That’s why the pitch for more resources has shifted. To justify requests for additional financial support—from PTA donations to grants or additional state funding—librarians are being urged to demonstrate how their work translates into outcomes for students.
Miller points to three types of data that can make the case feel harder to ignore: circulation numbers, collection analysis, and diversity data.
Circulation numbers are the first lever. The goal isn’t just to count checkouts. Circulation data, she said, shows true student engagement with the collection and helps set goals for the school year.
In Miller’s team’s case. they began using the Follett Software Library Suite to manage cataloging and inventory capabilities while helping foster a love of reading in students. From there, they tracked usage and built momentum around participation. They created a reading competition across grade levels—designed as friendly rivalry—and the results followed:.
Between 2023 and 2023, circulation increased 60 percent, and the next year increased another 28 percent. By sharing that data openly with the entire school community. students were “excited to return again and again to grab new books to read. ” and funders got a clearer picture of the library’s growing impact.
That kind of evidence becomes especially important when a school wants to expand collections in ways that go beyond what a restricted budget can easily cover.
Collection analysis is the second lever, built from reports pulled from current library catalogues. With that information. librarians can complete a full inventory of the collection. build a development plan. determine where deselection should occur. and identify where additional funding would improve the overall quality of materials.
Miller described one recent genre request for her school library: novels in verse—books that tell a story through poetry rather than traditional prose. Because of skyrocketing popularity among students, the library stocked 25 novels in verse. But when the circulation data was pulled for the call numbers. the team discovered it needed twice as many books to meet the growing demand.
Instead of arguing from preference, they presented quantitative evidence to budget stakeholders. That data helped secure funding for a novel in verse display, which is now one of the most-visited areas of the library.
The third lever is diversity data—built for the moment students see themselves on the shelves.
Miller said ensuring every student is reflected among the bookshelves is essential. When readers engage with books that align with their own cultural experiences. her reporting notes that their ability to read. comprehend. and analyze increases. Diversity in books, she added, also helps all students build empathy by learning from experiences different from their own.
Using her current library asset management system. Miller said all titles include diversity-related metadata identifying categories such as customs and culture. varying worldviews. socioeconomic status. ethnicity. gender. sexual orientation. and mental and physical abilities. When curation goals are set. she can run a report based on selected metadata and compare it to the school’s demographics. If a student population is underrepresented, she has “the evidence in hand” to advocate for diversity-related funds.
The pressure behind these requests is not just budgetary—it’s cultural.
After years of spending all their time on smartphone screens. Miller said today’s students are heading back to the school library for reasons that range from in-school phone bans to the rise of BookTok and new YA genres. Creating inclusive spaces for returning readers, she argues, requires librarians to diversify funding streams as school budgets tighten.
Tracking current trends and using data-informed reporting, librarians can show engagement and progress—and secure resources needed to support students’ reading growth and overall academic success.
school libraries library media center funding circulation data collection analysis diversity metadata Follett Software Library Suite BookTok literacy middle school
Finally they’re using numbers, about time.
So they want more money but only if the kids check out more books? That seems like a trap. My nephew barely checks books and still reads stuff on his phone.
Wait I thought libraries are funded normally?? Like $12 per student sounds high to me, but maybe that’s just for books. Also the diversity metrics thing… isn’t that gonna get gamed or whatever? People will just shove certain categories to look good.
This makes me mad honestly. School should have better stuff than “stagnant funding” and then they act surprised students don’t magically show up. If it correlates with test scores and graduation rates then why are they still cutting it down to basically nothing. Also why is “external partners” like PTA grants even required? Schools should just pay for the library like it’s part of the basics.