According to the article Financial Management by Velasquez, money is needed to keep libraries up and running (2019). Specifically in an academic library, “a librarian may be responsible for just the business section, purchasing the materials and making suggestions regarding the serials to support that section” (Velasquz, 2019, p. 135). Budgeting is a large part of managing finances in a library and the less there is to work with, the harder it can be to stay on budget and acquire everything needed, let alone wanted. Whoever is in charge of balancing numbers and allocating for the library to be very precise with what they do with the budget. 

It seems as though even before the COVID-19 pandemic funding and budgets for libraries were rather slim. In talking to the librarian at my school in a conversation last school year, she told me that it is important to advocate as much as one can for the budget because at my school it is usually rather small. I can only imagine that during COVID-19 schools might have to cut funding from the library and use it elsewhere. According to an article by Maughn, some of the budget cuts from the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year seem to be blamed on the pandemic, rather than caused by the pandemic and some teachers have even lost their positions due to lack of funding (2020).

Websites like SaveSchoolLibrarians.org, a website funded by Follet, are advocating for school libraries to stay funded during the pandemic and beyond. There is an option on the website to send an email to a state representative asking them to fund school libraries after COVID-19 and mentioning the importance of school libraries (Fund School Libraries after COVID-19, n.d.). Websites like this are necessary because funding for libraries seems to slip through the cracks. Now with a global pandemic, there is even more of a reason that libraries can go underfunded or even worse, be defunded. 

On the bright side, school librarians are doing all they can do to keep their libraries running despite so many restrictions and looming budget cuts. An article by Bamberger et al., highlights some of the ways school librarians have been going above and beyond during the pandemic (2020). Some examples include librarians sending books out to students and setting up YouTube channels to read to students (Bamberger et al., 2020). 

References

Bamberger, C., Bryan, C., Campbell, J., & Schultz, A. (2020, July 01). As COVID-19 Budget Cuts Loom, Relevance of School Librarians Put to the Test. Education Week. Retrieved February 25, 2020, from https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/as-covid-19-budget-cuts-loom-relevance-of-school-librarians-put-to-the-test/2020/07

Fund School Libraries after COVID-19. (n.d.). every library. Retrieved February 25, 2021, from https://www.saveschoollibrarians.org/fund_school_libs_after_covid

Maughan, S. (2020, August 14). Supporting School Librarians Through Covid-19 and Beyond. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved February 24, 2021, from https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/84105-supporting-school-librarians-through-covid-19-and-beyond.htmlVelasquez, D. L. (2019). Financial management. In L. K. Hussey & D. L. Velasquez (Eds.), Library Management 101: A Practical Guide (2nd ed.) (pp. 135–147). Chicago, IL: American Library Association.