Trend Analysis of Indiana K

The Indiana General Assembly recognized the importance of updating school library book collections by appropriating $4 million for K-8 schools during the 1997-1999 school years, $6 million for K-12 schools during the 1999-2001 school years, and $6 million for K-12 schools for the 2001-2003 school years. Due to state budgetary restraints, only $3 million was provided in the 2001-2002 school year and no funds were provided for the 2002-2003 school year nor for subsequent school years. A 2002 report indicated that funding provided between 1997 and 2001 resulted in a sharp increase in purchases and circulation, but that those numbers had either leveled or begun to dip in the partially-funded cycle (Plucker et al., 2002). This report reviews the current state of library services in Indiana public schools in light of these developments as well as trends in school enrollment and book purchasing and circulation.

Two types of data analysis were utilized in preparing this report. Survey results (n = 3,073) from Indiana public schools serving children K – 8 were compared across 2000, 2002 and 2004 school years, using analysis of variance methods. In addition, the comments of 185 Indiana public school librarians in response to an open-ended question on the 2004 survey were analyzed. The full report includes text, tables, and graphs illustrating both sets of analyses, as well as representative quotes from survey respondents.

The results provide evidence that school libraries are unable to maintain the levels of book purchases and circulation that were seen during the fully-funded 2000 cycle. They report experiencing a great deal of financial stress, uncertainty, and difficulty maintaining services and supporting programmatic initiatives that are viewed as important to state academic goals.

Table 1 provides a summary of statistics for schools that participated in the past three administrations of the Middle Grades Reading Network School Library and Acquisition Survey. As seen in Figure 1, book purchases have continued to decrease since the 2000 fully-funded cycle of the program. Circulation numbers showed an increase in 2002, presumably as those new purchases found their way into circulation. In 2004, purchases and circulation per student are at their lowest levels across the 6-year period.

Table 1. Library Statistics, 2000 – 2004
Year	Students/School	Books Purchased/ School	Books Purchased/ Student	Books Circulated/ School	Books Circulated/ Student

2000	473.7	514.2	1.16	17,221	40.46
2002	493.1	472.3	1.02	19,266	43.49
2004	506.9	483.9	1.01	18,422	40.12

Note. Throughout this report, the year listed represents the spring of that academic year when the survey was distributed. For example, “2000” represents spring of the 1999-2000 school year.

A qualitative analysis of participant responses to an open-ended question on the School Library and Acquisition Survey revealed that Indiana school librarians are coping with significant financial constraints. Although many librarians report actively seeking out and utilizing alterative funding sources to assist in day-to-day library needs, many respondents are concerned about their ability to address student needs and interests. In addition to financial struggles, many respondents expressed concerns related to job security, being overworked, coping with stolen books and school changes, and overcoming frustrations related to budget reductions or elimination. Despite the need for a close examination of the financial needs of Indiana’s school libraries, many librarians indicated that school-based support for the promotion of student literacy is increasing.

1. As reported in the 2002 report, State funding for school libraries from 1998-2001 resulted in a substantial increase in book purchases and circulation. With those funds exhausted and the widespread lack of local funds, librarians are turning to a number of alternative funding sources for purchasing books and related materials.

2. Statistical analyses provide evidence that, since the end of Libraries Printed Materials Grant Program, school enrollment continues to increase and small but significant decreases in book purchases per student are being seen. After experiencing large increases in book circulation sparked by the grant program, circulation per student appears to be declining slightly. Librarians report difficulty in meeting student needs and educational goals. As literacy takes a central role in educational initiatives, schools have been forced to support programs such as accelerated reading programs through creative and resourceful scrambling. Grant writing, collecting pull tabs, conducting book fairs, and selling chocolate bunnies are only some of the ways schools are supporting library materials and services they consider crucial to reaching academic objectives. However, if purchases and circulation per student continue to decline, the negative impact of the budget cuts may eventually exert negative pressure on student reading levels and achievement.

Improving School Libraries and Independent Reading: 1997-2002 Impact Evaluation of the K-12 School Library Printed Materials Grant

The literacy of every student remains a nationwide educational priority. Research supports the importance of school libraries in meeting literacy goals. For instance, studies conducted in Alaska, Colorado, Iowa, New Mexico, Oregon, and Pennsylvania suggest that when school libraries have higher levels of professional and total staffing, large collections of print and electronic resources, and more funding, students tend to earn higher scores on state reading tests (Lance, 2002; Lance et al., 1993; Lance et al., 2000).[EA1]

In addition, results from the federally-sponsored National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) provide evidence that students who read for fun every day have significantly higher reading achievement scores than students who read less frequently (NCES, 2002). The results of these studies provide convincing evidence that active school libraries promote student reading achievement.

As part of a comprehensive strategy to improve the literacy of Indiana students, the state legislature created the School Library Printed Materials Grant starting with the 1997-1998 school year. Those funds were discontinued due to state financial problems. The purpose of this report is to share an analysis of the impact of state funding on K-8 school library purchasing and circulation data. Data were collected during the spring of 2004 and are compared to the results of previous surveys.

Another $6 million was appropriated for a third funding cycle, 2001-2002 and 2002-2003. Due to state financial problems, school corporations received $3 million for 2001-2002 with the expectation that another $3 million would follow in 2002-2003. However, at the time of this analysis, the funds for 2002-2003 appear to be eliminated due to the state’s budget difficulties.

School corporations received and spent most of the funds for each biennium during the first year of funding. Thus school corporations spent most if not all of the $4 million for 1997-1999 in 1997-1998, the $6 million for 1999-2001 in 1999-2000, and the $3 million in 2001-2002.

Librarians in Indiana public schools enrolling students in kindergarten through eighth grade were sent a survey in the spring of 1997 to determine the number of books purchased and circulated during 1997. This information was collected prior to state funding for school library books. Subsequent library surveys were sent to schools in 1998, 2000, and 2002. A report by the first two authors of the current study was completed in 2002, summarizing those results (Plucker et al., 2002)

In spring of 2004, the survey was again sent to librarians in all Indiana public schools enrolling students in kindergarten through eighth grade. A copy of the survey, which was distributed by the Middle Grades Reading Network, is included as Appendix A. In 2004, 660 schools containing at least one grade in the K-8 range returned surveys.

The survey requested information on the school name, school corporation, and grade level served by the school. Additional questions included: a) number of students in the school, b) number of books purchased that year, c) number of books circulated that year. A space for additional comments was also included.

Included in analysis were data from all schools who answered all of the questions on the survey. Those indicating a “0” for number of books circulated were not used in analysis, because these cases tend to indicate that some non-typical library issue is occurring at that school, such as the library being closed for renovations, or computer glitches that made accessing accurate information impossible. Also, those schools with extreme scores on purchases per student or circulation per student were not used in the analyses. Of the total 3,148 cases, 50 (1.6%) met a criteria of having a z value above or equal to 5 and were excluded from analysis.

As shown in Appendix B, samples for the three survey administrations are similar with regard to the grade level taught within those schools. Analysis of variance was used to compare results for the 3 survey years, with conservative post-hoc Scheffe tests used to compare results between any pair of survey years. A limitation to this approach is the quasi-independent nature of the data, in that some schools participated in more than one survey year.

		Table 4. Demographic and Library Statistics, 2000 – 2004
Year	Students per School		Range in Students per School	Books Purchased per School	Range in Books Purchased per School	Books Circulated per School	Range in Books Circulated per School

2000	473.7		75-2500	514.2	0-4550	17221.4	150-10134
2002	493.1		102-4200	472.3	0-2900	19265.6	210-91729
2004	506.9		80-2200	483.9	0-5354	18421.6	30-102600

		Note. Throughout this report, the year listed represents the spring of that academic year when the survey was distributed. For example, “2000” represents spring of the 1999-2000 school year.

In order to control for enrollment changes across years, the purchase and circulation data are adjusted per student, with results presented in Table 5 below.

Analysis of variance was used to compare results across the 3 survey years, comparing; a) enrollment, b) purchases, c) circulation, d) purchases per student, and e) circulation per student. Findings regarding each measure are presented below.

School enrollment has increased in the time since the Printed Materials Grant dissolved. The main effect of enrollment was significant, F(2, 3095) = 4.526, p = .011. Post-hoc Scheffe tests indicated that 2004 enrollment was significantly lower than 2000 or 2002. Enrollment results are shown in Figure 2 below.

Book purchases per school decreased when Printed Material Grant funds were cut in 2002, but appear to have remained stable since that time. The main effect of book purchases per school was significant, F(2, 3095) = 4.333, p = .013. Post-hoc tests indicate that book purchases were significantly lower in 2002 than 2000. The average 2004 enrollment is higher still, although the increase was not found to be statistically significant. These results are shown in Figure 3 below.

The Printed Materials Grant appears to have resulted in large increases in book circulation, as reported previously (Plucker, et al., 2002). These increases were seen in years immediately following funding, as one might expect given the time necessary to order the books and enter them into circulation. As seen in Figure 4 below, a significant difference was seen across survey years, F(2, 3095) = 7.187, p = .001, with a higher number of books circulated per school in 2002 than in 2000. That figure suggests that circulation numbers may be headed downward, although the difference between 2002 and 2004 numbers did not reach significance.

The average number of books purchased per student was lower in 2004 than in either previous year. This difference between years, shown in Figure 5 below, was found to be significant, F(2, 3095) = 17.641, p < .001. Post-hoc tests indicate that 2002 and 2004 purchases per student were significantly lower than 2000. This may be an important finding, that although the average number of books purchased per school was found to have slightly increased since 2002, the average number of purchases per student is showing the opposite trend. Although strong efforts are being made among Indiana librarians to raise funds for book purchases, as described later in this analysis, the lower purchases per student ratio likely reflects an inability to keep up with increased enrollment that are occurring within the schools.

Circulation per student peaked during the 2002 survey, at a level higher than either 2000 or 2002, F(2, 3095) = 4.397, p = .012. Findings from the 2002 report indicated that circulation per student showed steady increases from 1997 to 2002. Therefore, current findings, shown in Figure 6 below, may represent the beginning of a decline of circulation resulting from the drop in book purchases seen in 2002.

The number of books purchased per school and per student increased nearly 25% from 1997 to 2002 during the funding cycle of the School Library Printed Materials Grant (Plucker et al., 2002). That report also provided evidence that the number of books circulated per school and per student increased nearly 18% and 16%, respectively, over the course of that funding program.

The current data suggest that book purchases per student decreased significantly following the last year of full funding (2000). Due to increased student enrollment, the mean number of book purchases per school appear to increase in 2004, but due to increased student enrollments the purchases per student appear to decrease slightly.

Of the 680 respondents to the Middle Grades Reading Network survey, approximately 185 individuals provided a response to an open-ended prompt for additional comments. The comments underwent two levels of qualitative analysis. First, two individuals separately analyzed the data for recurring themes. From these analyses, major themes and sub-themes were identified. The original data were then recoded according to the identified themes and sub-themes in the second level of coding. To assess the reliability of these interpretations, a second individual conducted a theme/sub-theme analysis of 20% of the original data set. Inter-rater agreement for data coding in the second level analysis was 84%.

Responses to the survey were categorized into five major themes: a) concerns related to the library budget, b) ways that librarians and media specialists are seeking alternative sources of funding to support library functioning, c) difficulties related to meeting student needs, d) positive school developments pertaining to improving student literacy, and e) providing a description of major issues impacting the functioning of school libraries. The responses were additionally categorized into subthemes for each major theme. Those subthemes are listed in Table 6 below:

Table 7 below presents the number of responses coded within each subtheme of the “Budget Concerns” category.

A consistent theme throughout many of the responses was the librarians’ concern for funding of school libraries. Specifically, many respondents indicated their library budgets have been significantly cut, frozen due to legislative delay, or entirely eliminated. A small number of individuals expressed concern over a lack of budget increases needed to keep up with the rising cost of books. In addition to responses regarding limited funds for libraries, respondents also repeatedly mentioned the growing inability for libraries to appropriately address the needs and interests of students. Quotes that exemplify participant responses are provided below.

Last year and this year we had severe cuts in the library budget and lost the state grant … that we were counting on last year. We have been supplemented by a grant, but still are short by $3,000 each year.

Our budget has suffered drastically in the last 2 years. Our circulation has increased because of our [Accelerated Reading] program but our budget has been cut.

My book budget has been cut by 55% this year. It may be cut further for next year.

As of January 1, 2004, we have no "book" budget. Our property taxes have not been levied yet, and we have no money. We are starting a sustained silent reading program and have no money to buy books….

We haven't been able to order anything this spring because our corporation hasn't received monies from the county because of the property tax delay.

The 68 books we purchased were bought using "found" money. We have no corporation funding.

I didn't have a budget for the school year 2002-2003 until Jan. 2004 and then my budget was cut in half.

I don't receive a budget from the local corporation. Any new titles are purchased from Title V Part A money or parent teacher association.

Our budget for books is only $2500. That is the same as last year. We are having a terrible time trying to improve our collection to help support the curriculum. Book prices continue to skyrocket yet the quality is poor….

Insufficient budget to address student needs and maintain library functioning (n = 20)

Many of our books are wearing out and the money I have ($3000 a year) does not stretch far enough to hardly replace books. It is not enough money to improve our library.

Each year with the increase of book prices and less in our budget it will become more difficult to keep up with our collection and the demands of staff and students.

The amount of books being purchased is not near enough for the books that are being circulated. We still have lots of outdated books on our shelves. Students need updated materials to reach their highest potential of learning. Our facility is way too small to accommodate our students, but that's another story.

Although we have purchased quite a few fiction and nonfiction books, we are in great need of updated reference books. It is hard to keep up with our needs with the amount of money we have.

Another major theme identified in the analysis was the reliance on outside funding to maintain the current functioning of libraries. Respondents listed a variety of methods used to raise money that enable them to purchase books specific to their students’ needs as well as increase overall circulation and library maintenance. For many of the responses pertaining to a reliance on alternative sources of funding, lack of financial security with school funding and uncertainty about future funding sources were frequently mentioned topics related to the theme. Responses that represent these themes are listed below.

Book purchases 1. 43 of books ordered were paid by funds earned by recycling pop can tabs. 2. One book purchased with memorial contribution.

We were fortunate to win $10,000 in free books from Target so that has been a blessing for our school as our budget was also cut 26%.

Books purchased count includes ONLY those purchased with school corporation funds. Many other books were added to our collection: gifts, book fair freebies, purchases from other funds, etc.

Grant from GE used to purchase books & quizzes. SINE Grant purchased books. Chocolate bunny sales money used to purchase books. No local funds used in 2003-2004 for books.

We are blessed to have funds from the Indianapolis Foundation Grants. As well as from…Washington Foundation grants.

With the massive budget cuts that we have endured for the past three years, we have come to depend on grant funds to help augment our lagging funds.

Another theme related to the previous two sections was a general concern about how effective libraries can address student needs while operating under such significant financial strain. Specifically, there were comments related an inability to purchase texts that promote curricular and achievement needs as well as books that interest students and promote an appreciation for reading. Quotes which exemplify these issues are listed below.

My students are becoming quite interested in certain non-fiction subjects but most of the time I have to direct them to the public library, even for school reports. The majority of our students say they don't even have a library card. If our school libraries are outdated and under stocked, I am concerned that most of our children's only mental stimulation will be television, movies and video games.

We are a small school with room for a limited number of students but they still need a wide range of library books. This year our corporation was forced to slash the per pupil amount allotted for books, with the result that our yearly book budget is exceedingly small which allowed only a very few new acquisitions. The library grant made the difference for us between just barely existing and creating a much broader and newer library collection.

The students are always very excited to have new books to explore and read. Without funding from the state I will be unable to purchase very few books. Books wear out very quickly when you are checking out this many books in a school year. The students will be the ones to suffer without proper funding.

Getting the students motivated to read is hard when the selection of books is not many. The students ask for different books or series and my answer is to them no money.

While many of the responses to the 2004 Middle Grades Reading Network study made references to the financial hardships that libraries are currently facing, several respondents mentioned positive developments within their schools that are increasing student literacy and exposure to reading. Programs such as Accelerated Reader, Sustained Silent Reading, and Reading is Fundamental were being implemented within many schools. While the literacy programs were strongly supported by respondents, concerns regarding the ability to sustain such programs (i.e. purchasing appropriate texts and materials) were mentioned. In addition, there was a repeated expression of gratitude toward individuals assisting librarians in their efforts to fund library needs and promote literacy. Quotes associated with this theme are listed below.

Thanks for all you do. Keep up the good work. In our PL 221 plan, Reading has been deemed the most important aspect of our school. Students and teachers are reading more and we are seeing improvements in many areas.

Our library also purchases Accelerated Reader tests to encourage reading and as an integral part of our curriculum. I purchase about 500 tests each year and dedicate about 1,200 of my budget to that.

We have a large number of circulations due to a Sustained Silent Reading program that is in place. Every student and teacher reads the first 20 minutes of EACH school day which has greatly increased our circulation statistics

We have a DEAR program at our school; twice a week for 25 minutes everyone including teachers Drop Everything And Read. We have received many updated fiction books due to the money from the state legislature. Both of these things have helped. New books are always on display; when new books arrive, many of them are highlighted on our morning announcements the students do on closed circuit television. More teachers are requiring students to do various kinds of book reports

Because of significant funding from the PTO & heavy use of the AR/Reading Renaissance program, our purchase of new books and circulation has remained satisfactory. However, because of the heavy usage of the books, they are wearing out rapidly. We are in desperate need of more books as our present ones are falling apart.

The final theme extracted from the data pertains to some of the specific issues that many respondents appear to be facing. Issues such as dealing with the loss of stolen books, being short staffed, coping with frustration regarding funding, dealing with uncertainty regarding one’s professional future, and adapting to technological and structural changes capture many of the concerns expressed by respondents. Quotes illustrating different topics mentioned within this theme are provided below.

We actually have about 3000.00 to spend on books, however I spend approximately 500.00 annually on replacing lost or stolen books - 16.6 %. of budget. (about 40 books annually)

…children seem to be less responsible in caring for the books while they are checked out. We have more parents who are less responsible in paying fines and getting books back to the school before moving out of the district. All of this means for less to offer our student patrons. It is hard to offer students information on places and events in the news when our books about countries are so outdated.

They are not replacing a librarian that is retiring this year. I will be the librarian for 3 elementary schools next year for a grand total of 15000 students!

At this point I am pleased that positions have not been cut. Though our corporation did not replace the middle school professional when she moved to another building, (school corporation) shows 4 professional media specialists but there are now 5 buildings.

…our biggest problem is staffing. We now have 3 certified media specialists for 7 elementary schools and the District Media Center.

How can our corporation declare better reading scores as its goal and then freeze my budget? I totally understand the situation that our superintendent is in...but it's like telling me to teach and then tying my hands behind my back and duct-taping my mouth! How can you teach when you don't have the tools?

Budget is getting MUCH smaller as cost of books continues to go up. VERY FRUSTRATING!

It is disgraceful how our libraries are underfunded. New materials are essential to children to keep interest. Paper back books are becoming more that half of acquired media.

The library aide position is in jeopardy right now as well as all special education aides.

I am an Instructional Assistant, not a Librarian. Our corporation felt it unnecessary to keep a Librarian for the three elementary schools in our corporation. I certainly hope that you are able to find areas where books and materials for the Media-Center/Library can be found. I personally would be more that happy to LEARN how to apply for Grants and Funding.

Structural and technological changes affecting circulation and/or library functioning

We are currently at the beginning stages of automation and have orders on hold until we are sure bar code processing will be correct for our automation.

New school opened in August 03 did not have a budget to purchase books until Jan 04.

Due to remodeling, collection was in storage this fall until Oct. 1 and could not be circulated.

Results of this qualitative analysis indicate that librarians within the state of Indiana are coping with significant financial constraints. While it appears that many are actively seeking out and utilizing alterative funding sources to assist in day-to-day library needs, many respondents are concerned about their ability to effectively address student needs and interests. In addition to financial struggles, many respondents expressed concerns related to job security, being overworked, coping with stolen books and school changes, and overcoming frustrations related to budget reductions and/or elimination. While there appears to be a need for a close examination of the actual financial needs of Indiana’s school libraries, many respondents indicated that school-based support for the promotion of student literacy is increasing.

Although the results of these analyses merit careful attention, the data should be interpreted with caution. Specifically, school librarians voluntarily completed and returned the surveys. A large percentage of librarians returned the surveys, but the resulting data set does not represent the views of every public school librarian in the state. In a related vein, the survey response rate was significantly smaller in 2004 than in previous years. School demographics are similar, suggesting the lack of a response bias, but the possibility of such a bias cannot be discounted.

A related limitation is the self-report nature of the surveys. Respondents may have made reporting errors, which will influence some of the data. The possibility exists that some bias in open-ended responses may have resulted from respondents' hope that their response might influence decisions regarding funding.

A third limitation that should be noted is the limited data collected regarding the actual source of book-purchasing funds within each school across the survey years. An assumption of this study is that a substantial part of the 2000 and 2002 amount of purchase funds within each school came from K-12 grant funds.

Funding was limited to K-8 schools during the first funding cycle but expanded to K-12 schools in subsequent cycles. Therefore, conclusions about when funds were spent are limited: At best, readers can assume that $4 million was spent during the 1997-1999 academic years, $6 million during 1999-2001, and $3 million during 2001-2002. The last two figures probably amount to less of a per student increase from the first cycle than may be expected, due to the increase in grade levels eligible for the targeted funds. Indeed, the $3 million during 2001-2002 may even represent a decrease in per student funding relative to the first funding cycle.

Lance, K. C. (2002, June). What research tells us about the importance of school libraries. Paper presented at the White House Conference on School Libraries, Washington, DC. (accessed at www.imls.gov/pubs/whitehouse0602/keithlance.htm)

Lance, K. C., Welborn, L., & Hamilton-Pennell, C. (1993). The impact of school library media centers on academic achievement. Castle Rock, CO: Hi Willow Research & Publishing.

Lance, K. C., Rodney, M. J., & Hamilton-Pennell, C. (2000). How school librarians help kids achieve standards: The second Colorado study. San Jose, CA: Hi Willow Research & Publishing

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (2002). National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP), 1992-2000 reading assessments. Washington, DC: NCES. (accessed at nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/reading/results)

Plucker, J.P., Humphrey, J., Kearns, A.M., & Walter. C.N. (2002). Improving school libraries and independent reading: 1997-2002 impact evaluation of the K-12 School Library Printed Materials Grant. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana Education Policy Center.
Appendix A

We need the following information to help us compare previous information from 1997 (baseline), 1998, 2000, and 2002 in the quest of increased funding for school library books. Results will be widely distributed. Please fill in the information and return to the Middle Grades Reading Network, University of Evansville, 1800 Lincoln Avenue, Evansville, IN 47722, or fax to 812-423-6034, or email information to rc33@evansville.edu.

How many books were purchased from June 1, 2003 to May 31, 2004 including those ordered

How many books were circulated from June 1, 2003 to May 31, 2004 including an estimate of

Table 3. Schools included in analysis

Grades Taught	Schools in 2000 Survey (N = 1211)			Schools in 2002 Survey (N=1227)			Schools in 2004 Survey (N=660)
	N	%	N		%	N		%
K	4	.3	1		.1	2		.3
K-1	1	.1	2		.2	0		0
K-2	11	.9	12		1.0	5		.8
K-3	12	1.0	10		.8	8		1.2
K-4	43	3.6	44		3.6	37		5.6
K-5	466	38.5	460		37.5	217		32.9
K-6	266	22	275		22.4	115		17.4
K-7	1	.1	0		0	0		0
K-8	21	1.7	25		2.0	15		2.3
K-9	1	.1	0		0	0		0
K-12	8	.7	8		.7	9		1.4
1-5	20	1.7	18		1.5	3		.5
1-6	2	.2	1		.1	1		.2
2-5	2	.2	3		.2	2		.3
2-6	1	.1	3		.2	0		0
3-5	9	.7	10		.8	5		.8
3-6	1	.1	2		.2	1		.2
4-5	1	.1	1		.1	2		.3
4-6	8	.7	8		.7	5		.8
4-8	1	.1	1		.1	0		0
5-6	7	.6	5		.4	3		.5
5-7	1	.1	0		0	0		0
5-8	14	1.2	10		.8	9		1.4
6-7	2	.2	2		.2	2		.3
6-8	165	13.6	176		14.3	118		17.9
6-12	14	1.2	15		1.2	11		1.7
7-8	47	3.9	57		4.6	30		4.5
7-9	5	.4	8		.7	3		.5
7-12	74	6.1	67		5.5	56		8.5
8-9	1	.1	1		.1	0		0
10-12	2	.2	0		0	0		0

	Table 5. Library Statistics, Adjusted per Student 2000 – 2004
Year		Books Purchased per Student	Range in Books Purchased per Student	Books Circulated per Student	Range in Books Circulated per Student

2000		1.16	0-4.57	40.46	.24-219.78
2002		1.02	0-4.58	43.49	.98-208.95
2004		1.01	0-4.77	40.12	.11-184.34

Table 6. Themes Seen in 2002 Survey Comments
Theme	Frequency	Subthemes

Budget Concerns	72	Limited Funds Inability To Address Needs
Seeking Alternative Sources of Funding	75	Dependence on outside funding sources Instability of funding sources
Addressing Student Needs	12	Difficulty meeting the curricular and achievement needs of students Difficulty obtaining books that will motivate students to read
Positive Influences on Library	44	Acknowledgement of the importance of student reading and necessity of library services Appreciation for the contribution community, corporate, and school organization to increase book purchasing and circulation
Libraries in Flux	37	Stolen books Short staffed Increased frustration with difficulties related to maintaining library Uncertainty of professional future Structural and technological changes affecting circulation and/or library functioning

Table 7. Budget Concerns Cited in 2002 Survey Comments
Subtheme	Number	Percent

Budget cut this year	24	33.0%
Budget frozen or very delayed this year	14	19.4 %
No budget at all this year	10	13.9 %
No increase (no change) in budget this year	4	5.6 %
Insufficient budget to address student needs and maintain library functioning this year	20	27.8 %