Just curious...Who buys most of the books they use and who depends on the library?

[Jennefer@SSA]

I am preparing for next year and planning to buy one book to go along with each chapter in SOTW. I want to use the library, but the reality is that it's not that close (25 min with all the traffic in my area), I don't think I'll remember to put all the requests in on time to get the books when I want them, and if I do happen to remember to request them, picking them up and then returning them on time may not happen. I don't have a huge budget at all so I am about to start hunting at Half-Price Books and other discount places. I already had some luck at bookcloseouts.com earlier tonight.

 

I was just curious how everyone else did it?

[Sue G in PA]

We have a fairly good library system close by. I depend on the library for MOST of our books and yet, we do have a fairly extensive home-library. I buy when I see a good deal somewhere, if it is a book I know we'll eventually use/read or simply just a good book to add to our library. My dh commented that we probably spend more on books than any other material thing. I don't know what we'd do if our library wasn't so close and well-stocked with a very efficient ILL system.

[PeterPan]

I buy our books for the same reasons you're considering it. What I usually do is sit down at the beginning of the new semester, topic, whatever (twice a year for history, once for a May Term or summer topic, etc.) and prepare to devote several hours to the task. I open up a whole bunch of windows so I have amazon, bookfinder, alibris and RR all open at once. Then I go through the list of what I want and see where it's cheapest. Also, if you're thinking of acquiring any significant number of books, it's worth your time to set up some library software and keep track of what you have and not duplicate purchases. I use Readerware, which is nifty because you can scan bar codes, but I think there are other options. (search for threads on this)

 

I try to be really careful about spending a lot of money on one-time use books. I'd be cautious with any listings in SOTW that could be that way. If it's multi-lesson use or something engaging that will get read again, sure. But if it's just a picture book you read and put aside, I do without rather than buying. I've found the book lists in TQ to be very good. The VP catalog is really good about finding interesting historical fiction series and things that will get read again.

 

Also, don't forget to watch the sale/swap boards. Sometimes you'll find somebody selling off their stash for a particular time period.

 

BTW, as far as organizing when you own the books, I put my history books for the year in order and put post-it notes to mark what VP card they go with. Makes it easy to pull off what we need when we come to that lesson.

[keptwoman]

I use a combination of both. Unfortunately our library system isn't great and many of the books I want can't be borrowed, so most specific reading needs to be purchased. For reference books I generally borrow unless the book will be well used for more time than I can borrow for, and gives something that the library books don't.

[Plaid Dad]

We are library people. A decent local system and financial necessity conspired to make that happen. The interlibrary loan people either love or dread us, I'm not sure which! :)

 

I do plan ahead and request books as we'll need them. The timing isn't always perfect, but we also linger over particular eras in history and science, so it's not crucial for me to have a given book in hand on a given week.

[Lolly]

It is truly abysmal. I just purchase all the books we will need. Then, I have trouble letting go of them. We own a lot of books. A whole lot of books. Dh has forbidden more book shelves.

[Peela]

I use the library a lot, and interlibrary loan, but mostly for *my* reading pleasure, and various things for the kids, for example, 'how to draw' books for dd, but for our school books, I try and buy, for convenience sake.

Rarely will I buy new though. I tend to look ahead and scour about for 2nd hand- either online, garage sales, swap meet, op shops- a lot turns up as long as I don't need it this week. I spend hours looking for 2nd hand things, but I have the time, and the inclination.

[Christine]

I am preparing for next year and planning to buy one book to go along with each chapter in SOTW. I want to use the library, but the reality is that it's not that close (25 min with all the traffic in my area), I don't think I'll remember to put all the requests in on time to get the books when I want them, and if I do happen to remember to request them, picking them up and then returning them on time may not happen. I don't have a huge budget at all so I am about to start hunting at Half-Price Books and other discount places. I already had some luck at bookcloseouts.com earlier tonight.

 

I was just curious how everyone else did it?

 

When I first started, I really depended on the library, but we were overseas, and we were given a check out time of 1 month w/ 2 renewals and no fines (military library system). And I could request books from other military libraries and the only "problem" with that was the wait. . .

 

Here though we only get 2 weeks, 1 renewal and stiff fines (and it's actually not so easy to renew. . .). To request either a hold or an ILL also costs. I've determined, for a lot of books it's cheaper for me to buy them. . .:tongue_smilie:Especially, as even though I have a schedule as to when to use them and how long it would take, my schedule invariably gets messed up on the weeks we have library books out. Worse, the books I want will almost always be checked out.

[Virginia Heather]

I use the library as much as possible. A few books I'll purchase-- spines, encyclopedias, our very favorites-- but between a couple very good library systems and ILL, I'm able to get pretty much everything I need. And seeing as our central branch is only 2 miles from our house, it's no hardship for us to make several trips a week. I reserve all our books online; the librarians collect them behind the desk and are then very happy to see me coming-- they're anxious to reclaim that large space on their shelf!

[Arch at Home]

I don't know what I would do with out the library. I request 20 to 30 books a week. On occasion I will purchase a specific book to go along with a program we are doing when I can't get it from the library but those add up to about 5 a year.

[G5052]

I'm also able to borrow some books from friends, so I only buy maybe 8-10 books to use a Sonlight core (which isn't too bad). Thankfully we have a decent library 10 minutes away and a larger system 20 minutes away near our church and co-op, so it requires some coordinating, but it's doable.

 

We've never been able to buy a whole Sonlight Core from them, and most of my IG's have been bought used (we're on our fifth).

 

Just watch the shipping if you're buying one book at a time online. If you have a larger order, buying new from Rainbow Resource or Amazon with free shipping may actually be cheaper. Year after next I'll probably do that because my oldest will be in a one-day-a-week program where the library just will not work.

[michaeljenn]

We love the library, but I DO buy all the academic type books we will need. I am using Tapestry of Grace this year and we just bought all the books we will need. I don't want to have to worry if it will be in at the library when we need it...ect.. So we just use the library for fun, enrichment type books.

 

Um...plus, I seem to not be able to get those books back on time???!!!! I am the one who funds the library with my fines???!!!! Am I alone here???:lol::001_huh:

[TheCoffeeChick]

I just wanted to mention that not only does amazon.com have free shipping, but many of the books are in the 4 for 3 program (buy 3 get 1 free).

 

After paying shipping on top of the used book prices, amazon comes out to be cheaper for me 9 times out of 10. :)

[sadiegirl]

I buy most of our reference books and books that we will use more than one time. The books that the boys read for their independent reading or we have selected for read-a-louds I try to get from the library. My mom loves to buy books for the kids(ex-teacher! and avid reader!) so I usually give her a list of books she can pick from and she can buy them for holidays,birthdays etc. I am leary of buying one-time use books unless it is something that I want to add to our library. Check around for Scholastic Warehouse sales. In the past, I have come home from their sales with literally boxes of books for under $75.00.

[Bambam]

Our library system is not a good one. They do not have many of the classics and few of the Sonlight's books.

We buy quite a few of our books (Half-Price Books, library sales, garage sales, thrift shops, ebay, WTM swap board, vegsource, etc). I do have some trouble getting rid of books. We have at least one bookshelf in every room in our house with the exception of the utility room and guest bath - and only because there is no room in them for a bookshelf! We are looking for a bigger home, so we can have more bookshelves!

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[Langhaven]

I purchase books that we will use for more than 4 weeks thoughout the year, and the ones that I can't find in the library system. Our regional library system is pretty good, actually, so it's split on purchasing and borrowing. I also have an Amazon.com credit card which accrues points with use. We have 6 kids and an SUV, and with gas prices today, the points rack up fairly quickly to get a $25 gift certificate in the mail every so often.:D There will come a point, as we cycle through our curriculum (TOG) again and again that I will be buying much less, I trust!

 

Pam

[elegantlion]

Our library has hours that make it almost impossible for us to get there. I prefer to own the books. I like to write in books and want ds to have the freedom to do that. I do plan ahead and find as much as possible used.

 

My goal is have a well stocked in home library, that's my excuse for buying anyway.

[dixiemaiden]

We buy most of our books. We do not have a good library system that is close to us. So we have a fairly extensive home library. :)

[kalanamak]

I just wanted to mention that not only does amazon.com have free shipping, but many of the books are in the 4 for 3 program (buy 3 get 1 free).

 

After paying shipping on top of the used book prices, amazon comes out to be cheaper for me 9 times out of 10. :)

 

Same here. Used fairs are helpful.

 

Our library is not great (although they have a year long trial of card exchange with the county system) and things are often not there, lost, deemed "unreturned" when I know I did return them, and have unattended children in the children's section plus some silly rules about privacy (I got a book through interlibrary loan and my husband couldn't pick it up...the story, from two different employees, which means they are fed this line... was that we could be divorced or separated and he could have stolen the notification card out of my mailbox and was checking it out on his card for malicious mischief. Who has time to dream up such things?)

 

They have good story-hours, however.

[riada]

We rely on the library. It is convenient to request the books online and then pick them up at the front desk.

[LibraryLover]

Thankfully, our ILL program is wonderful, and so are our librarians. I make all requests online and can easily renew on line. Even our fines, lol, are less than I would have paid for all of those books. I have about 15 requests currently. I cant justify buying all those millions of little paperbacks when they tend to be pretty well-known books that exist in our system.

 

We do have a pretty good personal library, too. I have had a lot of luck at thrift shops, school, church, and library rummage sales etc.

 

I would purchase more books if we had a poor library system. Of course, that would change the quality of my life...so I try not to think about it, and I always vote for library spending over-rides.

[nukeswife]

We kind of go in cycles. I mostly buy books for school, but for fun reading we'll use the library for a spurt then we'll forget to return things or misplace them, have to pay fines and we'll go back to buying fun reading books for a while and then the cycle starts all over. I've also found that the library in our county isn't the best for children's books, most of them are falling apart, but I recently found out that the next county over will let us have a card and has more liberal check out and renewal policies so we're going to give it a shot, we'll see how it goes.

[nutmeg]

I use the library a lot, and interlibrary loan, but mostly for *my* reading pleasure, and various things for the kids, for example, 'how to draw' books for dd, but for our school books, I try and buy, for convenience sake.

:iagree:

 

 

We have a fabulous library system, but I still buy most of our books.

 

Through our library's online system, I can request materials from 16 area libraries and pick them up at ours. Our librarians are wonderful, our building is gorgeous and located in a park setting. We love to spend hours there, browsing and reading.

 

But when it comes to school books, I tend to use the library to preview them. When I find great books I know we will love and use, I purchase them. In years past, when I have tried to rely on the library for what I need, it just doesn't get done. Perhaps it is an organizational fault of mine. :)

[tinkgumby]

I'm not organized enough to rely on the library for books. I like to be able to wander over to my shelves at a moment's notice and browse for what I want . . . I buy (usually used, hopefully at a good deal) pretty much everything, though I then go to the library if I need supplements for a subject.

[Carmen_and_Company]

Well, since there's such an age gap between my oldest and my youngest two dc, we own 90% of the selections I plan to use each year with the younger two through high school. I do use the library for independent reading selections I'd rather not purchase or selections used less than 10 weeks that I wish the dc to read. I do find I purchase more books for my 11 yo dd than my 10 yo ds just to give dd some balance in selections that do not always feature war or males.

 

Since reading LCC, I'm into renew, recycle, reuse. So, I purchase used when all possible, then donate to FoL or sell to Half Price books and roll the proceeds to the next book purchase.

 

Next year brings a new challenge, as I mull over my rising 5th & 6th graders sharing books or purchasing a second set. I think I'll post a my question in a new thread.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

We have a wonderful library system, so I borrow the books we'll only read once. If it's a classic we'll read over and over, I'll buy it.

[Oakblossoms]

We use the library. I check out online and use a rss feed to keep check of everything. When my children are approaching University age I will start purchasing some paperbacks because I do believe in writing and highlighting in those books. I think it's good practice for what they need to do later.

 

 

If I still lived in So. Cali I might not. Our library system charge a dollar to order a book from another library in the system. So, I would probably be more picky about what we read.

 

Right now I just cross check through the system once a week and look at what's available for current chapters and once in the next couple of weeks. I keep track of what my children are interested in too and we look those up.

 

Our education is mostly literature/book based, so the library is vital. I made sure when we moved this time that we could access a library regularly. It's on the other side of the block;)

[Narrow Gate Academy]

We're definitely library people as well. I have neither the budget to buy nor the space to store a lot of books. Happily our library system is pretty good. We go once a week and the day after I place the books on hold that I want to pick up the following week (anywhere between 10-30 books). This year we've also done a fair amount of ILL with great success as well.

[Hannah]

Unforetunately our library is hopelessly underfunded - they had a budget of US$1000 for last year for ALL purchases.

 

From the SOTW2 list, they had exactly 3 books from the entire list- Beowulf, Shakespeare and I don't remember which other. So, I look around in 2nd hand shops, 2nd hand online sites, bookmooch, etc. If I haven't found anything a month before we need it, I'll buy new from a local online bookstore. We've had at least one read-aloud for most of the chapters of SOTW so far.

 

I have a list in my purse for when I go 2nd hand shopping and am always thrilled when I find something we need/want.

[Mesa]

I have 4 young children, going to the library is difficult to say the least. PLus it never fails.. one kid will need to go potty so I have to gather up all the kids and drag them to the other side of the building. It's not an easy feat to take 4 kids to the library.

I buy everything we need. I do try to get to the library here and there to let my son pick up a few books he's interested in. He loves the library.

[M.A.C.K. Academy Mom]

I usually end up purchasing books. Although I find some through the library, our library system is lacking. So I have created quite a library for our homeschool. It is the only thing I spend money on, and I loan them out to fellow homeschoolers in my homeschool group.

[pamjk]

But mostly because of finances. I've already vented on another thread about how few books I can actually find in our two local county libraries. I do the best I can with available substitutes and what I have on hand from past purchases. I do buy books for certain important subjects like humanism, evolution, and global warming. I think we do just fine, and I'm not sure I could find more room for bookshelves in our house anyway. :)

[Trivium Academy]

I use the library for insignificant titles, ones that won't be used again- this eliminates TOG titles. I also use the library to preview books, to determine if they are worth buying so that cuts down on poor book choices.

 

Otherwise, we own what we use and I'm very picky about what I buy, how much I'm willing to spend, etc.

[RoughCollie]

We have a wonderful interlibrary loan system in Mass. I try to use the library as much as I can. I buy books when my fines get so large that I figure I may as well buy them instead, or when I can't get 2-3 copies of a book simultaneously. I try to buy books as cheaply as possible.

[gardenschooler]

I use the library almost exclusively. If you can renew online, browse and place your books on hold online, that will cut down on the number of trips you'd need to make.

 

I can't imagine buying all of those books! We do read several per chapter, but I wouldn't even buy one per chapter. That's too much money for picture/elementary level books for me. I'd rather spend money on something I can't get at the library.

[jaltman25]

The Library is not close for me either, 25-30mins Without traffic, we live in the sticks. I would like to go occassionally, but Honestly, I get a lot of my books through Usborne since I am a consultant....If I do enough Christmas Vendor Events I can get anywhere from $250-500+ in books free, so I make out 'wish lists' well in advance, and just pull from them for the next year.

I also purchase books from other sources. I don't mind getting used books, but since I am only on my first kid for homeschooling, I want to make sure the materials last through all of them.

I also hit up some used curriculum fairs, and discount item fairs (like MACHE)

[Rhesa]

We're huge library users here. I buy very little, and what I do buy is usually used from library sales! But we have been blessed that the two library systems I have used (Boston and NYC) are wonderful. They don't always have everything I would like, but usually there is something comparable.

 

I'm such an enthusiastic library user that I often remind my kids that paying taxes is not always a bad thing, as taxes support things like our local libraries. :D

[Tutor]

We used to live in an area with a great library, and every week we had a planned "library day". We often went two or three times a week to attend various book clubs or other activities sponsored by the library that didn't line up timing wise with our planned day. Having a day when we went every week ensured that we had no (or at least low-ish :D) library fines since books could be checked out for two weeks and everything else for one week.

 

The library in our new town has a poor selection of books, terrible hold and check-out policies, and the librarians are friendly but unhelpful. Now that our lives have calmed down a bit, I am planning on talking to an acquaintance of mine who does a lot of work with the library and see if I can help out there with getting the check-out and hold policies changed and help them improve their collection of books to make it more homeschool friendly. There is a rather large homeschool population here, so hopefully this will be a benefit for many. In the meantime, we've asked for books from family as gifts, and my parents have offered to buy the kids some school books every few months, so that is a huge help, but we can't possibly afford all the books we would like on our grad school income. But we've made do. :001_smile:

[Testimony]

I volunteer at the library. I do different programs at the library. The librarians will purchase books for me. I got a multiplication CD from my library that the librarian specifically bought with me in mind. She purchases so many books on tapes for me. I specifically ask that the library get a few books recommended by Story of the World and I got them. The interlibrary loan lady loves me. I am requesting at least twice month a book from another library.

 

We are library moles.:lol:

 

Blessings on your homeschooling journey!

 

Sincerely,

Karen

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

[Sandra314]

We are huge fans of our public library system and ILL program. We get 3 weeks plus one renewal on books and if I check it out with my teacher card I get the books for 6 weeks. I currently using the libary's copy of SOTW volume one. I wanted to preview before considering purchasing a copy. We get all of our reading books from the library.

 

Any books and materials acquired or purchased are through paperbackswap.com, library book sales, ebay.com, homeschoolclassified.com or book/curriculum swaps in our area.

[mcconnellboys]

Yes and yes. I actually do both. We use so many books that my house could not possibly hold them all. I love books and do buy a ton. Those I tend to buy to keep are classics that we'll use again and again. Or I buy books that give a lot of comprehensive info on particular cultures, along with great photos. I also have quite a few collections of folklore from around the world, which we use a story at a time as we work our way through various cultures.

 

But I also typically check out about three or four dozen books a week from the library.....

[ABQmom]

Tuesday is our library day. We go every Tuesday after lunch. I write down the books I will need on Friday when I'm doing lesson plans. I try to look 3 weeks down the road in history to make sure I put books on hold that will have to come from another library.

 

If we didn't make it a weekly thing, I would have a hard time keeping up with due dates and such. It saves me lots of money to use the library.

[Jen in PA]

We practically live at the library.... but not the local one. If we were limited to the local one, we would be stuck. We travel to a nearby city with an outstanding library system twice a week, and usually make it to at least 2 branches each month. My kids walk straight to the holds shelf when we get there since they know there is always something waiting for me there:001_smile:

[Judy in WA]

I depend on the library. I also live 25 minutes from the library but I combine that outing with othere errands so the trip serves more than one purpose.

 

At our library, we can manipulate the hold date. I look ahead for what I will need and put a months worth of books (or more) on hold at a time staggering the dates that the books actually go on hold.

 

The other thing I do is share books with a friend. We are both eclectic/WTM/Sonlight people. For next year, I purchased a used Sonlight curriculum. I'll use it in 2008-2009 and she will use it the following year. When we are both using the same curriculum at the same time (this year we are both using Sonlight 6) we just make sure we don't both need the same books at the same time - which turns out to be easy with our schedules and time off for sickness.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Judy

[WTMindy]

I am very spoiled. We have two libraries (one county and one city) withing 3 miles of our house, and both systems have 5-6 libaries in their system. They make it super easy. I can put books on hold on my computer at home and pick them up a couple days later. Any books that they don't have I can do inter-library loan (although that is less predictable for time). I love, love, love our library!!

[Rosie_0801]

I pick up anything that looks useful at garage sales, discount sales, op shops etc. I trawl amazon when I am intent on having THAT particular book. If I'm not concerned about which book I want to use, I'll hit the library. All libraries have picture story books about basic religious beliefs, for example, and for adult reading level. They don't have much for intemediates, so I'll end up buying some of that. All libraries have books about different countries, so I wouldn't buy my own unless I got a fantastic, not-to-be-missed deal. The more of these books I can give for Christmas and birthday presents, the better, of course!

:)

Rosie

 

Edit: I've been known to put requests in at the library too. They have actually bought a few, but aren't very quick about it. So, if you want something next year, suggest it now ;)

[Closeacademy]

I use the library. Every week we go and we check out books to go with science, history and sometimes math. We also get a lot of fun books, educational DVDs and things like that.

 

I find that the library is a great resource and by making regular weekly visits at this age I am training my children to use the library when they are older. I am a heavy reader and if I bought all the books I read it would cost me a fortune so I find that the library saves us tons of money.:001_smile:

[Isa]

If it's a book that is good and I anticipate using it with all my children, I'll try and buy it at a discount (especially if I know I'll have a hard time finding it at the library). This applies mostly to chapter books, and books for upper elementary on up.

 

Whenever I can, I go to library sales where I can get books for $ 0.50-2.00. Space is always a consideration, so I have to choose wisely!

[Emmy]

I kind of want to be a library person but I have a terrible time being consistent about going to the library. Even now I bet I have a dozen books overdue - I think they were all due Saturday....

 

I have a really nice library at my disposal and can get a lot of books there but timing is an issue occasionally. Also - I find that at the ages my kids are, buying those picture books is a great idea. A book borrowed from the library and returned is soon forgotten but a book that lives on our shelves gets looked at again and again.