MomtoCandJ Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 Why do the local libraries have to be so bad? They hardly ever have the books I'm looking for, so I have to use interlibrary loan if any of other PINE libraries have what I am looking for. If they do have them it takes forever for them to get here when they become available. I have had the new Well Trained Mind on hold for 2 months now and not a single copy is available in the state, I want to look at it before I decide if I want to buy it. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 It's frustrating, I agree. We are part of the Pines system too and it's so unreliable. I get the feeling the people working in the library system in Ga. just don't care...about books, about patrons...it's just a job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSNative Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 Why do the local libraries have to be so bad? They hardly ever have the books I'm looking for, so I have to use interlibrary loan if any of other PINE libraries have what I am looking for. If they do have them it takes forever for them to get here when they become available. I have had the new Well Trained Mind on hold for 2 months now and not a single copy is available in the state, I want to look at it before I decide if I want to buy it. :( I hear ya. I moved from an amazing library system and was, um, underwhelmed with the new one. Have moved again and have fingers crossed that this system will be better. However, I will solve your other problem for you. Buy the book!!! It's worth it. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Can you request that they purchase specific books? I've done that with some libraries in the past. Is there a Friends of the Library group? I think that when they make donations, they are able to direct some of where the money is spent. Or would they accession homeschool and/or good books donated by a homeschool group. Our library branch in Hawaii had a sweet program where they solicited children's science books from publishers each year and then published a review guide for all the libraries in the state. This probably brought in a over a hundred new science titles every year. I would see if there is a staffer that you can get on your side to get better books in. But I also have to remind myself that libraries tend to get books that circulate a lot rather than more expensive books with lower circulation. So a dozen paperback fluff titles or the hot new novel will often get shelf space over older classics or books that are seen as specialized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Have you ever thought of how Libraries are funded? Where the money comes to buy the books, hire the staff, build and maintain the building? The areas that have really good libraries have the money from local tax dollars so that they can ... hey come on already and buy the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Sounds like a good reason to have a fundraiser for your local library. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Unfortunately, our library systems are being faced with millions in funding cuts due to declines in tax revenue. The really good metropolitan library system in the next county (which we access) announced last week that they were going to close half the branches (12 of 24) for the rest of this fiscal year with the possibility of cutting down to only 4 branches total open in the next fiscal year to serve a population of 890,000 people. The decision is being reconsidered after protests and now it looks like they will be laying off fewer folks (80 or so instead of about 150) and cutting most of the programs to keep from closing branches completely, at least for the rest of this fiscal year. No promises at all about what happens in July. In our county, our local branch has been cut from 10 staff to 4 and from 6 days a week to 4, closing early. The two main facilities (there are 4 library locations in our county--we only have 169,000 people) are alternating being open on Saturdays and none of the branches are open on Fridays or Sundays any more. They had already dropped their acquisition budget to 3% of the previous year's acquisition budget. Not a good prospect, especially when per report the three economists brought in to talk to the county commission about the projections for the near future say that the recession is likely to last another 5 years or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 (edited) Two copies in the whole entire state of GA? Seriously? Gosh, at least your weather is good. You all got lettuce & fruit growing, and we have barely been able to put in our peas. My little library has every edition, and in the same town there are other copies. There are so many more hsers in the south...you would think your library resources would rally because of that. Reason 29991882 not to move from MA. Edited March 26, 2010 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Yep, libraries survive on taxes, and they usually get the dregs. After all, libraries aren't important or anything. If it's a county system, it's paid for by county taxes, or by city taxes if it's a city library, etc. Counties, being generally badly off all the time, tend to have poverty-stricken library systems. Let me tell you, unless your local population really LOVES libraries, it is nearly impossible to pass a special tax to fund them specifically (say, a sales tax of 1/8 cent, or a property tax of $16/year, etc.), so libraries are part of the overall county budget--the last to get new funds and the first on the chopping block when money is tight. If you pay overdue fines thinking you're contributing to the library's budget, think again--many fines just go into the general fund. You can ask where your fines go; maybe your local library does get them. But mostly not. Why yes, I did get laid off from my library job last year, and so did half my co-workers...:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Ours is the same way. I just give up looking for any of the recommended reading with SOTW, I just automatically get an ILL started. I have done that for over a year and 1x they told me they had the book:glare:. We are not apart of the PINE but we are the WYLD. Im attempting to get my own library of what I will be using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cammie Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 See, taxes do sometimes go to places that we all can appreciate!:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 (edited) See, taxes do sometimes go to places that we all can appreciate!:001_smile: I wish that private subscription libraries would come back in fashion. I would love to run a private homeschool/education library along the lines of the scientific libraries of the 1800's and early 1900's. Not only could I stock it with great stuff that people want to read and study but not necessarily own, but it wouldn't have students from the local middle school using it as a playground for hours after school. I think that there is still a subscription library in Cincinnati that is based on the law and natural history collection of a man from a century ago. Added: Actually looking at it, there may be two big membership libraries in Cincinnati. The law library I mentioned (which is near the fire museum) and the Mercantile Library, which is more in central downtown. Edited March 25, 2010 by Sebastian (a lady) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cammie Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 I wish that private subscription libraries would come back in fashion. I would love to run a private homeschool/education library along the lines of the scientific libraries of the 1800's and early 1900's. Not only could I stock it with great stuff that people want to read and study but not necessarily own, but it wouldn't have students from the local middle school using it as a playground for hours after school. I think that there is still a subscription library in Cincinnati that is based on the law and natural history collection of a man from a century ago. That is what we have here in India. I think there are government libraries but nothing accessible for us and not like what we think of as a library in the US. Here we join private libraries. They are very similar to US libraries except they deliver and pick up for free! I belonged to one that was very much like Netflix but have decided to drop that one for one that has a physical library I can take the kids to. That one will also pick up and deliver for free when we don't want to make the trip to the library! It is one thing about India I really like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 I wish I had access to any library. If I want a book I have to buy it and then pay for it again to have it shipped over here. I sooooo miss having access to a library. Cammie, does your library pick up and deliver out of country :D? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cammie Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Sorry!!! If you don't mind me asking, where are you? Sounds a little too remote for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Sorry!!! If you don't mind me asking, where are you? Sounds a little too remote for me! I'm in Bangkok right now on baby watch, but where we normally live is a city of 11 million, not exactly the boonies. I think it's because not alot of english is spoken there, so they don't have need for an english library. The first thing I'm doing when I get back to the States is going to a library and checking out as many books as I can carry out the door :D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cammie Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to live in a country where English is a recognized national language (of course they have about 20 more as well!) English is really a unifying language for India and is very widely spoken. I guess I kind of take it for granted...thanks for helping me to remember to be grateful for that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted March 25, 2010 Author Share Posted March 25, 2010 I have talked to the head librarian about new homeschooling books and she said that they were not going to get anymore because when they do some one checks them all out and doesn't return them. There is no story time for the little ones except in the summer and then it's all kinds of crazy because people just dump their kids off for the day and expects everyone else to watch them. I have made monetary and material donations to the library and yet I don't see anything that has been done with any of it. It just makes me sad to see the sorry state of our library, it is a fairly new building but it seems the only thing that gets upgraded a lot is the computers. Not many new books and the most of the new books they get are in Spanish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spradlin02 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 We buy box lots of books off ebay, pick out what we want and sell the rest back or donate. We still go to library, but I like my children growing up around books, with access to books all the time. There's certainly a cost to it, but the benefit certainly exceeds the cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamom3 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 You can ask for them to place a hold on the books from a closer library. I know when I place a hold, I have to see if the book is local or South Ga. If it is South Ga, then it could take up to a month to get it. I use the Pines system a great deal and the librarian here works with us and lets us check the books out for 30 days since we homeschool. I am going to miss them if we have to move! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizabeth Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 http://www.worldcat.org/ A website to let you search yourself for the location of the book you seek. I use World cat and then take my handy little note regarding the book's location in the state and fillout the interlibrary loan form with all the information already there. Do it yourself saves a lot of time and frustration. This way all they have to do is file the request. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cindie2dds Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 (edited) I hear you. Our library isn't that great for quality, education-worthy books. To top it off we have a ton of home school families here, so we are all fighting for the exact, same thing. If you plan to use FIAR or SOTW, you can forget it! ;) We've just resorted to buying most of our books used and will probably continue to do so. Edited March 25, 2010 by Cindie2dds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted March 25, 2010 Author Share Posted March 25, 2010 All the newer, decent books are from North Georgia :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cindie2dds Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 (edited) All the newer, decent books are from North Georgia :( Yep. For OOP books I go to Houston and visit my Dad. :) Edited March 25, 2010 by Cindie2dds typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 I have made monetary and material donations to the library and yet I don't see anything that has been done with any of it. What exactly do you expect to see? Have you asked the librarians what sort of donations they want or where they go? What is the donation policy of the library? It's great that you've donated money. Your library may be beleaguered enough that it's paying the electric bill with your donation or something. Material donations to a library present a little bit of a problem. Don't get me wrong, libraries like donations, a lot! But in general, libraries do not put donated books into the collection unless they're really worth it--it costs money to process a book into the collection, and 'whatever gets donated' isn't really a big part of any library's selection policy. Quite frequently the donated books are sold at a used booksale and the proceeds used to benefit the library. But every library is a bit different, so you can ask about that. If you ask, the library may also have a book wish-list for patrons to use, so that you can buy books for the collection. Donations can be a little bit awkward. When someone, for example, donates a World Book from 1968 or otherwise old or inappropriate items and then makes a fuss when they don't appear on the shelves, it can be easier for the library to just have a policy of "we don't accept donations" or something like that. (I'm not saying you did that, just that it happens all. the. time.) Anyway. I'm sorry that someone in your area is making it impossible for the library to buy homeschooling books. That kind of dishonesty hurts the whole community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted March 25, 2010 Author Share Posted March 25, 2010 It's not the money part I am worried about because I know that they have bills to pay too, but the materials I donated they asked for, they said they were looking for craft supplies and the like for the children's programs but I haven't seen or heard of any of the children's programs that they are supposed to be doing. If they used the materials for bulletin boards and other library things then they should be honest enough to say so, not tell people they need the materials for children's programs that don't exist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaMa2005 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 I have had the new Well Trained Mind on hold for 2 months now and not a single copy is available in the state, Well that's a stinking LIE because I saw a copy at my library yesterday!!!!!:toetap05: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Our library is pretty good, although now I'm a little afraid to go there because I found out that it is now disputed gang turf (and we live in a nice little farming town) and there's always a security guard hanging around. But, I try to go before the local schools are out, since it's not quite as crowded then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda S in TX Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Our library is not very good and it seems like they are making more rules all the time. They never have the books I would like to check out. They are getting rid of all the older books, and only buying the more modern twaddle books. You can only interlibrary loan two books at a time. You can only check out three books on a subject at a time. If a book is in the library, you can't place a hold on it. You have to rush down there and hope noone gets it before you do. If the book is in the bookmobile van, you can't get it out, even if it is the only copy the library has. Donated books go straight to the Friends of the Library sale. If we really need or really like a book, we buy it. Melinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted March 25, 2010 Author Share Posted March 25, 2010 Just checked the status for The Well Trained Mind and it says 0/8 available :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cindie2dds Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 Well that's a stinking LIE because I saw a copy at my library yesterday!!!!!:toetap05: Um, just a tad snarky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 Las Vegas may be awful in some aspects but our libraries ROCK! Sorry yours is sucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted March 26, 2010 Author Share Posted March 26, 2010 I hope that I can get it soon, I am hoping to make it to the Georgia home school conference April 29-May 1st. I really really wanted to go to the one in Ohio but that's just a bit much for right now. The Georgia one is free this year because dd is under the age of 5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibrarianMom Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 Two copies in the whole entire state of GA? Seriously? Worldcat.org shows over 24 copies in GA. I stopped counting after a while. It could be that it is really popular and everyone is looking before they buy the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 Um, just a tad snarky. I don't think she was being snarky but informing the op that she was getting bad info because she knew that a copy was available. At least that's how I read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 Do you have other options? Where I live I have four different libraries that I can go to, the local city library, the county library, a library in a close city for anyone who lives or works in that city, and I pay to belong to the Nashville library. I still occassionally run across a book I would like that none of the libraries have but if it is expensive and I want to check it out before buying then I can put in an ILL for it. Otherwise, I just try to find a cheap copy on Amazon. I do realize I am blessed with so many library choices but sometimes people aren't aware that there are other options so I thought I would bring it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted March 26, 2010 Author Share Posted March 26, 2010 I trying to get it through ILL but I guess so many people want it in the state of Georgia (don't blame them really) but then I know that some of them won't be returned because that is why my local library won't get any new books about homeschooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cindie2dds Posted March 27, 2010 Share Posted March 27, 2010 I don't think she was being snarky but informing the op that she was getting bad info because she knew that a copy was available. At least that's how I read it. Thank you for a different point of view! It's so hard to tell sometimes what people mean to convey here without talking face to face. My apologies. :blushing: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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