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2025-26 SLATE Census
Janette Derucki
Created on September 16, 2025
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Transcript
About SLATE
2025-2026 Illinois School Library Census
School Library Census FAQ
Census Worksheet
Census Form
Use the button below to get started or click any of the tabs at the right to learn more.
Census Staff Forms
Get Started
2024-25 Census Overview
Contact
First, tell us, are you a:
Ready, Set, Census!
Click the button that best represents your role at your school.
School Administrator or Representative
Librarian or Library Staff Member
Who should ompletthe census?
Select
Select
School Library Census FAQ
Our school doesn't have a library. Do I still l need to complete this form?
What are you going to do with this information?
Who should complete the census?
How do I calculate FTE?
Do I need to include staff names?
Why should I participate?
Is this information reported to the Illinois State Board of Education?
How do I calculate the cost of a resource used by all buildings in the district?
How does the census support school library advocacy?
What if I oversee multiple buildings?
Should I include volunteer workers?
What is RAILS?
If my district completed Annual Certification, should I submit the census?
Can you explain the different licensure types?
Why can't I submit information for my district?
What is the SLATE Data Dashboard?
Who can I contact with questions?
How do I report a staff vacancy?
For School Library Staff
Additional Resources
Instructions
Quick Links
- Request a copy of last year's census data (optional)
- Review the Census Worksheet
- Gather the data needed to complete the census
- Complete the Staff Worksheet
- Enter your data into the online Census Form
- Congrats! You're done!
Census Worksheet
SLATE Census Frequently Asked Questions
Staff Worksheet
Email Janette Derucki to request a copy of last year's submission
Census Form
For School Administrators & Representatives
Survey
Overview
Each year, the Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS), a substate government agency supporting libraries in northern and west central Illinois, gathers information about school libraries throught its SLATE project. We're interested in learning more about your school and how students access the information and resources they need to learn.
If you have a school librarian, please share this link and ask them to complete the 2025-26 School Library Census. This annual census aims to connect with all schools, both with and without libraries, to gather data about the number and status of school libraries statewide. If your school doesn't have a library or library staff, we ask that you or a representative complete the census form and indicate your library status. Your information is crucial and necessary to inform advocacy, funding, and grant initiatives at the state and local levels. Our efforts support information and literacy education for all students in Illinois.
Go to the Census Form
Return to:
Census Form Worksheets
Census Home Page
Library Staff Home
Worksheet Links
On this Page
This page contains links to worksheets designed to help you gather the data you need to complete the online census form. You will need a separate worksheet for each school you are reporting in this year's census. Select the file format that works best for you.
Downloading and completing these files does not automatically complete the census process. You will need to report the information in the census form.
How to use these forms:
- Select the file type compatible with your device.
- Make a copy of the file or download to your device.
- Gather the data requested in the worksheet and add it to the form.
- Access the online census form and enter the data into the appropriate field.
Excel
Word
Google Sheets
Return to:
Library Staff Worksheets
Census Home Page
Library Staff Home
Worksheet Links
On this Page
This page contains links to worksheets designed to help you gather the data you need to complete the online census form. You will need a separate worksheet for each school you are reporting in this year's census. Select the file format that works best for you.
Downloading and completing these files does not complete the census process. You will need to upload a file with your staff information in the census form.
To prevent anyone from accidentally sharing information publicly, these forms have read-only access.
Excel
How to use these forms:
- Select the file type compatible with your device.
- Make a copy of the file and save it with a unique file name. (Adding your school name is a simple way to make it unique.)
- Add your staff information.
- Upload when asked in the census form.
Google Sheets
Numbers (Apple)
Return to:
Census Home Page
Contact
Library Staff Home
For help with the SLATE School Library Census, contact RAILS Data Analyst, Janette Derucki.
Questions? Need assistance?
janette.derucki@railslibraries.org
630.734.5143
https://railslibraries.org/data-analysis/school-data
Schedule a 30-minute Calendly session
Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS) is a regional library system.
RAILS serves libraries in northern and west-central Illinois.
It's one of three library systems in Illinois and is funded by a grant from the Illinois State Library through the Illinois Secretary of State. To learn more about RAILS, visit
our website.
For help with the SLATE School Library Census, please contact RAILS Data Analyst, Janette Derucki.
janette.derucki@railslibraries.org 630.734.5143 https://railslibraries.org/data-analysis/school-data Schedule a 30-minute help session
If you oversee multiple schools:
The school library census is intended to be submitted for each school individually. If you are a district librarian or are responsible for more than one school library, we ask that you complete the census for each building you oversee. Download a separate census worksheet for each building to help you organize your data. You will also need to complete a separate staff template for each building.
Yes!
The SLATE Census and Annual Library Certification are separate processes.
During the early phases of the SLATE project, data about school libraries was collected during the Annual Certification process library system members complete at the beginning of each year. Based on feedback provided by school librarians, the decision was made to create a separate data collection process that would allow more detailed data to be gathered. During the 2024-25 school year, the first school library census was implemented with plans to repeat the process annually.
Yes!
All schools in Illinois should complete the census even if they don't have a library or library staff.
Part of the mission of the SLATE project is to gather data about the status of school libraries across the state. This includes identifying schools with or without school libraries and staff in an attempt to better understand how decisions are made about funding and staffing library spaces.
No, volunteer workers should not be counted as library staff.
Student and parent volunteers can be an important part of the everyday operation of school libraries, and while we value their contributions, they should not be counted among your school library's staff. The SLATE census aims to track investments in personnel by gathering data about paid educators who are employed by a school or district.
No, staff names are not required.
To study school library staff, it's not necessary for us to gather any personally identifying information about your school's staff members. It's our intention to protect school library workers in any way we can, and maintaining a level of staff anonymity is one way we can do that.
No, SLATE Census data isn't reported to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).
Just like you, ISBE and its staff are able to access the SLATE data dashboard to view information about school libraries in Illinois. ISBE does not currently have a mechanism to regularly obtain data about the staff, funding, or operation of school libraries.
COMING SOON
Check back for information and insights from the 2024-25 SLATE Census.
What happens to my information?
RAILS gathers data and stores it for analysis and internal use. We will occasionally share insights and results with our partners which include:
- Association of School Library Educators (AISLE)
- Illinois Heartland Library System (IHLS)
- Illinois Library Association (ILA)
- Illinois State Library (ISL)
This information is not reported to ISBE.
Insights and overview are available to the public online through the
SLATE Data Dashboard.
Who should complete the census?
School library staff, a school administrator, or another building representative should complete the form.
School library licensure is not required.
- Any library staff member who manages or runs a school library is eligible to complete the census for their building.
- In schools with no library or no library staff, the building administrator or another representatinve can complete the online form.
Why participate?
Gathering data from each school is crucial for a number of reasons:
- Supporing School Library Advocacy Work
- Ensuring School Library Equity
- Improving Educator Licensure Access
- Informing Professional Development Opportunities
- Improving Communication with School Administrators and School Boards
Calculating Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)
Full-time equivalent is used to standardize library staff coverage by representing it as the equivalent of a full-time position.
To calculate a staff member's FTE:
- Add the number of hours per week a staff member works in their position in the library.
- Divide that total by the total number of hours in a work week (the number of hours in each school week).
- The result is the staff member's FTE.
Calculating Resource Costs Across Schools
If every building in your district accesses a particular resource and the contract is paid for at the district level, you can report the cost of that resource in either of two ways: 1. Per Student Cost Calculate the cost per student by dividing the cost of the resource by the total district enrollment. Next, multipy that amount by your building's enrollment to determine the cost for your building. 2. Per Building Cost This is probably the easiest way to determine the approximate cost. Take the total cost of the resource and divide it by the total number of schools with access.
Can I submit district totals instead?
Previously, the SLATE project collected information about school libraries during the Annual Certification process. This information was submitted for the district as a whole, but it had the following limitations:
- Difficulty identifying resources available to students by school.
- Inability to identify budget disparities by building.
- Data often contained errors and inaccruacies due to lack of knowledge or information gaps.
- School librarians were often left out of the reporting process.
How to Report a Vacant Position
If you have an unstaffed position open in your school library, please be sure to include it in the staff template reporting form. To enter information for a vacant position, follow these steps:
- Enter the job title in the appropriate field.
- Under "FTE," enter "0".
- Under "Contract Details", enter "VACANT."
What is the SLATE Data Dashboard?
To make information gathered through the SLATE project available to members of the education and library communities, RAILS provides an online dashboard tool. This dashboard is created and hosted in Tableau, an advanced data analytics and visualization platform. Dashboard users are able to view information about school libraries across the state as well as connect with additional information and resources. To view the SLATE Data Dashboard, use the following link:
SLATE Data Dashboard
Educator Licensure
When surveying school library staff, we most often encounter four types of licensure: licensed librarians, licensed teachers, licensed technology specialists, and licensed paraprofessionals.
- Licensed Teachers are educators with a degree in education who have their Professional Educators License (PEL).
- Licensed Librarians, or Library Information Specialists, are licensed teachers who also hold the Library Information Specialist endorsement.
- Technology Specialists are licensed teachers who also hold the Technology Specialist endorsement.
- Licensed Paraprofessionals are support staff who work under the supervision of a licensed teacher. Paraprofessionals must have a minimum of a high school diploma.
More information can be found in the Educator Licensure section of the ISBE website.
How Does the Census Support Advocacy?
Knowledge is power.
Data and information about school libraries provided through the School Library Census allows library and education support organizations to advocate for:
- More school libraries
- Adequate school library funding
- Adequate, qualified school library staff
- Appropriate and relevant professional development
- Expansion of library resources and materials
- Increased school library awareness and education for adminstrators and school boards