The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

TL 10.1q 16 Ontario School Library Association MANAGEMENT @ your library™ CCrreeaattiinngg aann AAnnnnuuaall RReeppoorrtt Reprinted with permission from School Library Information Centre Handbook, TDSB "In a systematic way we must share what we know and what we do. Then we can build a common cause in our schools and community from a common information base: That's information power." ~Doug Johnson (1998)* * Doug Johnson, "At the ends of our job: Using Planning and Reporting to Build Program Support" in School Library Management, 4th ed. Worthington, Ohio: Linworth, 1998. The school library is a complex organization, andwriting an annual report is one way to help buildunderstanding about the multi-faceted role the teacher-librarian has in the school community. It is also a good opportunity to reflect and evaluate how well you achieved the goals set at the beginning of the year and to solidify your principal's support. Lesley Farmer, in her article, "The Multipurpose Annual Report" published in Book Report (Nov/Dec90, Vol. 9 Issue 3), summarizes the purposes of the annual report: • Sell the library to students, administrators, teach- ers and the community • Project a specific image of the library • Educate the community about library services and use • Highlight a unique service • Recognize staff efforts and school and community support • Demonstrate progress • Point out needed changes • Serve as evaluation tool It is important to plan the annual report carefully. This document should be a well-crafted, succinct summary of the year without flowery passages, long descriptive details and emotional appeals. Think about the following questions: • Who is the most important audience? Why? What do they want to know? • What aspect of the school library program should receive the greatest emphasis? What was the greatest accomplishment this year? What direc- tion does the school library intend to take next year? What role does the library play within the school and the community?