Library report as an infographic

Last year I shared with our school executive an eight-page library report. When I look at it now, I wonder did anyone read it.
A friend of mine recently updated her professional portfolio and included an infographic for the first page - education, interests, etc. I had been thinking about getting started on my annual library report, and thought it would be fun to try and present the information more graphically. So much of it is statistics.
So I decided to try Piktochart. I found this tool intuitive and really easy to use. No need for Google help. Easy templates - or start from a blank template. Easy to edit text options. A selection of images and icons to import, and you can import your own images.
I love the way it displays the information in the report visually, so that important outcomes are quickly understood.The infographic is saved as a jpeg to share in a document or website, and print. It looks best online.
This year I will meet with my Principal and Head of School to briefly go through the report with them, in this new visual format.
Here is the result.

Annual library report

I just finished my 2012 Annual Library Report!
My first, actually. I blogged about my intentions to do this last year, in my opening past for this blog.
I have passed the report on to my "line manager", the Assistant Head Secondary - Diploma Programme and all library staff, and he will share it with my Principal and Heads of Subschool. It was 8 pages long and included the following:
Resources
Print (including statistics of new resources); sharing resources of the local library service; digital (ebook, mp3 audiobooks, ipad apps); management of digital resources (Follettshelf); other digital resources (online curriculum guides - Libguides, including statistics of access); multimedia resources (Clickview and Discovery Education)  including statistics of use; databases; periodicals (including ejournals); stocktaking overview.
Learning and teaching
Reading promotion - library visits, circulation statistics, Book Week, author visits, book fairs; AIS Libraries and professional learning - the contribution of library staff to pd initiatives such as Teacher Inquiry Groups, the 2012 Library Team Inquiry into ipads (report);  the library's contribution to school goals (regional PD provider;ICT integration).
The physical environment. Achievements and challenges.
Staffing.Achievements and challenges.

Library advocacy and promotion

A friend's passing comment about annual library reports made me feel a bit ashamed. We don't do annual reports to the Principal for our library. This led me to consider how we advocate the library's resources and services to our school community, are we doing enough, and should we be delivering annual library reports even if they are not required?
From the outset let me say that I do meet with the principal to report on library activities, discuss challenges and successes. And I like to leave him with a printed version of our agenda, as a memory aid or record of our conversation. And I do think we should be reporting formally to the Principal at the end of year, because some of the things that follow don't go directly to him.
I share the Vision, Mission, 3-year strategic plan with the Deputy Principal. Each year our annual Library Action Plan is prepared with the library team and presented to my Head of School. The library team reviews this mid-year and end-of-year, with these reviews again being presented to my Head of School.
We also employ a range of strategies to promote the library widely to the Principal and the school community: our library website; school newsletter; assemblies; staff meetings; curriculum leader meetings; school-wide committees.
links:
Karen Bonanno's slideshare presentation, 7 successful strategies to develop your school library advocacy toolkit 
Heart of the school is a UK site showcasing the brilliant work of many UK school librarians in promoting their library activities.
The Hub is a wiki championing the case for quality school libraries in Australia.
I recall reading some time ago the findings of a New York study conducted by Nancy Everhart, in which she surveyed school Principals about they strategies for evaluating their school librarians. here's the link:

Principals' Evaluation of School Librarians: A Study of Strategic and Nonstrategic Evidence-based Approaches

The findings were that  principals are proactive, deliberate, and strategic in seeking the evidence they use to evaluate their school librarians. They are more likely to use their own observations, interviews, and data analysis than to rely on evidence provided to them by the school librarian, particularly in the form of reports.

I don't think this let's me off the hook! We need to give the Principal an annual report, comprising a collation of reports from each Branch (Junior; Primary; Middle; Senior). That raises the question - How long should this report be?
Here's Dianne McKenzie's thoughts on that.