How do you use your public library in homeschooling?

[kklibrarian]

I have to confess that I'm posing this question not as a homeschooling mom, but as a librarian. I manage the main branch of our local public library system. I've often been intrigued by the library's relationship with homeschoolers, and questioned how effectively we are meeting homeschooler's needs. We promote our services with homeschooling groups, and many local homeschooling families are keen library users....but so much of homeschoolers library use goes on "under the radar" in ways that can't be easily tracked with research and statistics. I'm curious as to how you ladies use your local public libraries: Do you use it mostly for checking out materials, and if so what? Do you go to story times and special programs? Does your library offer tours or special services for homeschool families ? In a perfect world, what would you want your local public library to offer you?

Thanks,
Kelly

[Kasi]

When I was homeschooling my boys, we used the library for number of things.

*Checking out materials & resources, such as storybooks, nonfiction, biographies, educational videos.
*We attended storytimes for my younger children.
*Participated in craft/story hours for the older children.
*Took part in the summer reading programs, where the children earned prizes for meeting their goals.
*We utilized the computers at the library for educational & tutorial games
*We used the library once a week as our "school place" for a change of pace. It was nice to have an area where the little ones could play quietly with puzzles & manipulatives, while the older ones had the tables to sit out & do their work.

[Leslie]

We like having access to resources that we could never afford to purchase: Shakespeare videos, classical music CD's unabridged classic audiobooks, and really good, literary quality books with skillfully crafted illustrations. We buy our curriculum spine books, but we could never afford the extra enrichment stuff.

We haven't done any of the programs. I'm sort of a book snob ;) and the books they use at storytime may or may not be what I want to expose my kids to. I could persuse the list of books they're going to be doing, but it hasn't been a priority yet. We don't do reading programs because I'm hesitant to attach rewards and quotas to reading, so far my kids all like to read for its own sake. But one of our libraries started a family movie night, where they show an old classic family movie on a big screen in one of their side rooms and serve popcorn. We hope to do that one of these days.

In my perfect world, we'd have access to every unabridged classic audiobook and more cultural events (plays, operas, ballets) on durable DVD, old classic family TV series on DVD, classic movies. I guess I tend to think of a library as a public archive of information and culture. It kills me when I see my library sell off a children's illustrated Hiawatha book to "make room for more Harry Potter books because that's what the kids want."

[threecubs]

One of the biggest ways I use our library is through the computer. I love our library's online catalog and I end up using the hold/inter-library loan option most often. We just look up a subject or book at home, put it on hold, and pick it up when it's in.

We've been listening to books on tape in the car.

My oldest (9) checks out two non-fiction and one biography about every 3 weeks, and we go every week for fiction/video/books on tape.

We are using a reciprocal agreement with a neighboring county and using their online system for programs like the Rosetta Stone (I just did that this week and posted a bit below about my son wanting to learn Japanese...I am amazed at how they are using this program through this library system! It's a wonderful resource).

Just two weeks ago the children's librarian approached me and asked if my kids would be interested in being in a small play based on the book Mabela the Clever. We came the next week, and she had teens/students helping coach the kids for about 40 minutes, and then we came in and the kids presented the play. There were about 30 kids there. It was very fun, and a great way to feel a part of the community.

I hope that helps!

[Sara]

We don't use ours. The librarians are often cranky, the check-out time is only 2 weeks for books and 1 week for videos (and I always forget to renew so I always have late fees and the videos *can't* be renewed), and it is usually disastrous to take my 2yo to the library. This is all very unfortunate because I have such fond memories of going to the library when I was a child and getting stacks and stacks of books. Our library system does have a new online system and if I ever paid off the $40 late fee that I wracked up last fall, I could get my password and start using that which would mean I could reserve the books and have dh pick them up. Hmmm, maybe this weekend I'll do that...

[lumpofclay]

Sara,
Do you live in my town? :/ You just described mine. . . except here you can only keep a video *overnight*! :rolleyes Saturday is the best time to get a video, since you can get it till Monday! Oh, and you can't search our library online either! :banghead What year is it at my library? Oh, that's right. . . 1980 since it is *just* like it was when I was a child.

To answer the OP's question:
In a *perfect* world, I would love to:

1. be able to search the library online and reserve books for pick-up
2. be able to keep books 3 weeks and renew them online
3. attend story time
(In CO, the library had storytime 3 times a day :eek 3 days a week :eek !!! It was great! Although C was so little we didn't often go, I would have definitely attended once she was a bit older. We moved though. :( I really miss that library!)
4. Sit (in comfy chairs, no less. . .like our old CO library) and read books
5.Be able to easily do inter-library loans (which, btw, our old library was great for too!)

I do love living near family, and now that we're looking for a job (DH was laid off 3 months ago), I don't want to move, but I so miss having a good library! :hissyfit

[Mamaka]

I only have a preschool aged ds (and limited transportation) so I mostly use the online catalog and reserve books that way. What a blessing it is too since our library is part of a "co-op" - I literally will have 20-30 books out at a time and probably another 10-15 on reserve. It's nice because I plan a week or two ahead for books, order them, and then pick them up once they're all in at my local branch. I'm sure will continue this tradition as ds gets older and maybe utilize some of the reading clubs.

[Booklover]

Too often, lol! Not really, I go weekly. We have a statewide ILL system that I can request books from at home, and go pick them up. I love that for homeschooling (I tend to abuse it for books for me, that I don't have time to read :lol) I can also search the catalog at home, so I go every week with a list based on what topics are coming up in history or science. Then pick up my voluminous hold books. Embarrassingly enough, I know that there is a 100 items limit on materials checked out. :blush

[Kasi]

One of the last posters said something about not having transportation, and this popped into my mind. I used to live in a big city, but now live in a rural town. Our library system has a "Book Mobile" that travels to the outlying tiny cities & surrounding areas at the edge of our town. I haven't had to use it, since we've moved into "town", but I know many many homeschoolers & others love having the Book Mobile come around. They've recently upgraded to a large school-bus sized library on wheels, and you can request them to bring your "hold" books. The Book Mobile has 1 stop per month to each location...some are at rural schools, some at a churches, some near the local market...central locations for each very rural areas.

[erinee]

Wow, I feel for the people who don't have libraries they are comfortable with using. We are at our library at *least* once a week, sometimes more. I used to work at the library and still sub occasionally, so I don't have to pay late fees. (Shhhh.....) I use ILL, reserve books from home, go to story hour when our schedule allows, check out toys, videos, games, magazines, *everything*. Our homeschool expenses would be outrageous if it weren't for the library, since our "curriculum" is based largely on reading good literature. I'd hate to have to actually pay for all those books!

Our library will check out books to teachers and homeschoolers -- or even people who are leaving for vacation and won't be back by the time the books are due -- for 6 weeks. That's what it would be if you checked them out for 3 and then renewed them, and this just saves people from having to remember to renew. It really helps!

[Teribear]

I too use our public library at least weekly.

We participate in the summer reading program (dd's really into medals and the only person you're competing with is yourself the way our programs is set up) every year. We did story time until she was "school aged"...I'm really considering trying to start a story time for older kids. We have a wonderful "Parent/Teacher Resource" Section that has things like the Totline Theme books, Mudpies and Magnets, all the things you find at the teacher supply store that you might not necessarily want or be able to pay $20/book to purchase...I LOVE that section. We check out books with tapes so she can work on her reading by reading along as she listens to the tape or so that we can listen to them on car trips. I check out books recommended here to read before I decide if I want to give Amazon the money to add them to my home library.

Our library gives me the same privilages it gives to public school teachers. I can have up to 100 books checked out on my card at a time...I've never actually approached that maximum, although on a couple of our more in depth unit studies I've come close.

I can reserve or renew books online.

I LOVE my public library.

[Booklover]

I forgot the summer reading program. We love that. They even let me sign up. Last year I got a T-shirt and the year before that a tote bag (too flimsy for my library books though ;)).

[MamaBeth]

I would like to see book club sort of things offered during the day for older kids to meet at, maybe a young writer's group as well. The library back in MA had a game day for homeschoolers to bring board games and play them, which was nice. They also had a chess club and stuff, but they all met after school which didn't seem to work well for us since it would seem to be crowded and full of unruly kids just hanging out til they could go home, who weren't really into learning to play chess or anything. It was poorly set up at a couple tables along the back wall of the kid's section, instead of letting the kids use one of the conference rooms where they could be undisturbed by kids who weren't part of the group. The children's librarian TRIED to help the kids learn to play chess, but spent most of her time policing rowdy kids instead.

[fourbygrace]

Our library is great. We use them for :

* Checking out materials
* Preschool story time (which is available 3 x per week)
* Online book reservation
* Online Interlibrary loan ( I requested so many books, the librarian finally asked me if I wanted a special PIN number so I could request books online)

We are blessed, our library is homeschooler friendly. We have:

*A bulletin board for artwork displays usually used for public school classroom art, but we get one month in the Spring and one in the Fall to display artwork from homeschoolers in our support group

* A book club for K- 2nd grade homeschoolers, during school hours which is their "slowest" time for the children's section ( This just started in April and hopefully the librarian will do it again. They won't do a special group for 3rd -5th grade because they have one after school hours for that age, so homeschoolers can participate in that if they want to)

* Teacher library cards (they include homeschool moms as teachers) for 4 week check out instead of the usual 2 week check out.

Blessings,
Mary

[erinee]

We haven't utilized them yet, since Zach is still in PS, but our downtown branch also has programs that they say are "geared towards homeschoolers, but anyone is welcome." I think that's cool!

[lotsomama]

We don't use ours. The librarians are often cranky, the check-out time is only 2 weeks for books and 1 week for videos (and I always forget to renew so I always have late fees and the videos *can't* be renewed), and it is usually disastrous to take my 2yo to the library. This is all very unfortunate because I have such fond memories of going to the library when I was a child and getting stacks and stacks of books. Our library system does have a new online system and if I ever paid off the $40 late fee that I wracked up last fall, I could get my password and start using that which would mean I could reserve the books and have dh pick them up. Hmmm, maybe this weekend I'll do that...

I can't stand my library.
We have the cranky librarian problem too. It's a huge bummer since our main branch is walking distance from the house.
We also often have overdue fees for books we have checked in - and I have retrieved off the shelves to show them. When I was just figuring out how to teach my youngest to read, the kid's librarian was so rude when I asked questions about beginning readers that I haven't talked to her since. My older girls won't even go unless I'm there because the librarians are consistantly rude and try to make up "special rules" for computer time or checking out books that magicly disappear when I'm there. My SIL worked there for a while and quit until she could get a spot at a branch library because she thought the other librarians were too nasty to work with!
If they had better books, I'd be more disappointed. But I find more literary merit in the classics I can pick up at Goodwill for ten cents, keep forever and don't have to worry about if the library will fine me because they didn't notice that I've turned it in and have it cost me more than buying the book new.
It's too bad, but I don't feel like I can do much about it other than avoid the place.

[Sandy]

The library here in Indy is absolutely wonderful!

We can reserve and renew books online. I get email messages to remind me when books are due and when materials are available. The Indy library is very homeschool-friendly and has purchased lots of curriculum type of materials. This last year I put in a request for Chalkdust SAT Math Review ($135) and Chalkdust Trigonometry ($400+) and both were purchased. We can request ILL books and have been able to utilize tons of books that I couldn't possibly afford to purchase. This year my son read Hakim's US history series (another $100+ I didn't have to spend).

We are in the library so often that the librarians in our local branch know us by name AND called this week to offer my daughter a job.

[Mama Bird]

Thank you so much for asking this question!

I am extremely impressed by our library system. We live in a metro area, so even our little small town has a nice library, and we can use the online catalog to request books, to be picked up here. This spring, our library launched programming specifically for homeschoolers. Our libs hired a lady just to do this! The classes are held (in our little town!) in our library, and several others in the system. The first class offered was a class on weather. My daughter loved it! They did charts, experiements, read books, made their own barometer, etc. It was really a well-put-together class, and materials were provided. No cost! Now, she is taking a class for hs'ers on art. They look at art, then talk about it. They are learning basic drawing skills, etc. My DD is really loving this, because science and art are her two favorite subjects!

One of our librarians homeschooled her children. (She also attends our church!) One of our librarians appeared to be cranky, but is very nice once you get to know her. She gets crabby at all the children who get dropped off after school and are disruptive...but I can't really blame her for that!

I love our library. I just wish there was a gated section for my son... :P He's 2 and loves to "explore" the library. Nobody has ever complained though! We walk to our library at least once a week. :highfive

[Lillyma]

I haven't read the other responses, but here's my perfect world library.

1. A designated homeschool day during school hours during the week where a co-op nursery could be set up in one room. ((Homeschool parents could stayi n the room for, say, a half an hour & then have a half an hour of free babysitting?) Or maybe jsut a room w/ nursey toys w/ a glass wall, or even a corral type set-up for moms to see their toddler while they do their thing. I have such a hard time keeping an eye on my 1.5 yo & see to it that all 4 of my other kids find what they want.

2. An online catalog that is connected to other area libraries from which I can place books on hold or have them sent to my library for pick-up. (We actually have this at the library I go to.)

3. A getting to know the library night once or twice a year. There are so many ways to use the library that people just aren't aware of. If the library did a tour & a question & answer time it would be great.

4. An extensive collection of historical & science dvds, both juvenile & adult.

5. No rental fee for non-book check-outs. (not counting over due fees, of course.)

6. Email notification of overdue books.

I love the library!! I'm glad you asked this question.

ETA: We have 2 children's librarians. One is a gem & obviously loves kids. She's the one who is usually in charge of special events. The other...well, she is scairy. Her demeanor seems like she's irritated that you actually brought your kids to the library. :shrug And heaven forbid if you have a question, or if your toddler escapes into the adult section! :rolleyes