Building a home library - how expensive does it get?

[mathnerd]

We read aloud every day and need a constant supply of material and running to the library is not working out, so I have been building a "home library" for my DS to use for the past 3 years. I just tried to tally up how much I had spent on it and it is running to several hundreds just on my Amazon account. This is in addition to all the curriculum and software that I purchase.

Admittedly I have bought many high ticket items including several encyclopedias, dictionaries, LOF series, SOTW series, several sets of classics, poetry compilations etc over the past few years. But, how do I "economically" build a home library for us? Does it take a lot of $$$ to build a collection? What is a reasonable budget for a "home library".

[NicAnn]

It hasn't cost that much for us. We buy the bulk of our books at the thrift store (Goodwill) and at garage sales. We have an Ipad and I have been able to get lots of Kindle books free, particularly classics and non ficiton.

Craigslist is a good resource too. Generally a search for "Homeschool" will bring up huge collections of books. Lots of times the people selling will give you a deal or trade.

 

Good luck! I thin a home library is the most valuable thing we can provide while homeschooling.

[TraceyS/FL]

Ours has been built with a lot of dollar bargains at Scholastic sales, i just found a group of books at Goodwill, gifts from families and such. It took awhile, and if i'm spending more than a couple of dollars I try to make sure it is a reference or something we will use for a couple of kids. I couldn't put a dollar amount on it - it might give me a heart attack :D

 

It just took me multiple weeks to talk myself into the Usborne Science Encyclopedia - I owned the Kingfisher and some smaller books that almost made me had what I needed. Then I realized that I have 2 kids that will use it for the next 2-4 years.... so i broke down and spent the money.

 

I do impulse by some stuff - but most of I need in the next 1-3 months.

[Walking-Iris]

Well if I take our curriculum out of the picture and just look at our library---as in read alouds, picture books, non fiction--no way did it cost us a small fortune. At least I don't think so. ;)

 

We have hundred's of children's books and only very few were bought brand new. Consignment shops, garage sales, library sales---I pour over those areas. It's amazing how many quality children's books can be found in an afternoon at the Salvation Army. Basically you have to know what you're looking for. I don't buy cheap trade books. Things like character books about Dora or SpongeBob etc--I don't buy them. And I only get a picture book if I know it's a classic, from a well respected children's author or illustrator, or I skim it quickly and like the looks of it. Same with children's chapter books. Or I use a program that I know calls for it as a read aloud.

 

Having some good reference books to guide you in building your library helps. Trelease's Read Aloud Handbook, More Books Kids Will Sit Still For, Books to Build On etc are good books to have on hand. Buy those used too! :)

 

For things I know I really want, I usually try to find it used on Amazon. And I search for curriculum used on forums or Amazon first and if I can't find it used and I know I really want to use it, and need it long term, I buy new (usually from Rainbow Resource). If it's a book we just want to read or will only need for a few weeks, I use the library system.

[nmoira]

I regret spending as much as we did on picture books, especially since we live so close to a library, but not the rest, either for pleasure or school.

[Murphy101]

It varies, but the thing is to do it over time. I probably have over a year's salary value in our home library. But it's taken me decades to get to that point.

 

We find it well worth it both in convienence and in frequent use.

[oceanseve]

Scholastic warehouse sales, used book stores, local homeschool facebook groups.... and I still have over a thousand dollars invested in our library. DH says I have a problem..... I don't necessarily disagree..... I've been building it for a few years now, but I just think of all the years I'm going to need it so I feel like it's a good choice. I went from being part of an okay library system to a worthless one when we moved. When my children are older and it's not an endeavor to go to the library we'll buy into the closest good library system. Then I will set to selling or donating most of my picture and children's reference books :( It will be a sad day.

[justasque]

I have created an *excellent* library of non-fiction books by looking at thrift stores and library book sales in wealthier areas where the residents have good educations. Over the years, I've also picked up many, many classic novels, easy readers, and pictures books, paying about 25 cents each.

I buy *only* quality items. If is is good non-fiction, or a classic, I may buy many years ahead of anticipated use, if the price is right.

 

That said, if you can find a decent library system, that would free up a significant amount of your time and money. I hold library cards for three counties in my state, plus I pay an annual fee to use an out-of-state library system. Once I finally found the library of my dreams, we made the trek every two-three weeks. They allow you to check out 99 books PER CARD. Yes, we sometimes needed to use more than one card. We didn't read every single book we checked out, but it meant we had a rotating library shelf that always featured a variety of books on whatever topics we were studying, as well as a selection of good fiction at a range of reading levels. Books go out for 3 weeks, you can renew online for up to 12 weeks. AND - once we had finished with them, they went back to the library and I didn't have to dust them. Now and again we find something we just don't want to return - at that point, we buy a used copy from Amazon.

[JessMcG]

One place I like to look for used books is Homeschoolclassifieds.com

 

But that's only for books that aren't available at the library. DD is a voracious reader, so I let the library maintain whatever books they will.

[TraceyS/FL]

That is another part - I can never seem to find what i'm looking for at our library. The first 12 weeks of HO Middle ages, my library had 2-3 books, and the county wide had more (but not a great amount - and hey, Pandia Press is in my county!). But overall, I have been disappointed in what my towns library has in a lot of areas. I try though.

[Guest]

There's not a right or wrong answer for this - totally dependent on each family. And like Martha said, I think it takes TIME.

 

Let's say I spend $500/yr. on books for my library. Multiply by 13 years and you've got a $6,500 library. This is not counting my personal books, gifts, etc. I have so far easily spent that much ($500/yr.) on actual books in the last 4-5 years, and fully intend to continue in the same manner.

 

I am big on beautifully illustrated classic children's books, encyclopedias, chapter books, and read alouds. I also have a fair share of non-fiction history, math, and science, although not as many as fiction. Where I try really hard not to spend money is on the early reader books, early chapter books, and "fad" chapter books. I try to buy quality and borrow the other stuff. So, that's just me.

[Rbsmrter]

When my mother in law passed along my husbands old books that were 20 something years old, it really inspired me to start a library for my kids (and future grand kids). She made a point to take care of the books and it was really special for my kids to read Daddy's old books. With (soon to be 4 kids) I have no problem spending money on books, even books that aren't considered to be traditional classics. I know any book in our house will be well read!

 

We've never lived near a great library system. Not to mention that weekly visits to the library just don't appeal to me. With three young kids around, books are bound to get lost, torn, damaged, etc. While its more expensive it was a luxury I am willing to pay for. We've also never been able to find great books at Goodwill. The nearby locations only seem to have trade books. It's another one of those situations where the time I've invested so far just hasn't panned out.

 

As I mentioned my kids are young, so we don't have years of collecting under our belt, but I was a teacher prior to staying home so my classroom library was a great starting point. I base most of what I purchase on various reading lists and some of the references others have mentioned. I buy used if I can, from Amazon, Exodus and Alibris, but I'm particular about the condition so sometimes I have to pay more then I'd like. I've been burned by "good" and even "very good" condition. I just purchased the books from our reading list for the next two years and the average book cost was about $4.50. This doesn't count curriculum, workbooks, etc. These are all readers, picture books, early chapter books, etc. We don't really have a yearly budget in place for school, but I do know that books (rather than curriculum) are probably 75% of what we spend. I imagine that might change once my kids are out of elementary school. Compared to what others spends we seem to spend a bit more, but its well under 1/3 of any private school tuition around here.

[Meriwether]

I don't know what I would have paid for the books in my home library if I had paid full price. I garage sale. Most of the books I find at garage sale are not worth keeping long term, but I've had some great finds. I have hundreds of easy readers that I paid .25 for. They aren't worth keeping forever, but I've had three kids go through them so far and at least one to come. Most people at garage sales want to get rid of their stuff. I will sometimes offer a lump sum for all their books. I get children's books at garage sales and library sales. I haven't bought many books off ebay recently, but you used to be able to get box lots of award books for about $0.50-$1.00 a piece. Sometimes cheaper. Books that we use for school, I buy new if I don't already have them. That is where most of my money goes. FWIW, I'd rather spend a few more dollars and get beautiful children's books (like the Ingpen books) than get a standard paperback. If you watch Amazon for sales, you don't have to pay a really high price.

[kirstenhill]

We read aloud every day and need a constant supply of material and running to the library is not working out, so I have been building a "home library" for my DS to use for the past 3 years. I just tried to tally up how much I had spent on it and it is running to several hundreds just on my Amazon account. This is in addition to all the curriculum and software that I purchase.

Admittedly I have bought many high ticket items including several encyclopedias, dictionaries, LOF series, SOTW series, several sets of classics, poetry compilations etc over the past few years. But, how do I "economically" build a home library for us? Does it take a lot of $$$ to build a collection? What is a reasonable budget for a "home library".

 

You might find as your DS gets older you might not need quite the sheer volume of books. While my DD used to go through stacks, and stacks of picture books and shorter read-alouds (and my boys still do), my DD prefers longer read-alouds and independent reads that may take many days or even multiple weeks to finish (think 300+ page books with small type). So, it may seem less daunting to have enough to read with just a library trip once every three weeks or something like that in future years. I could easily do that if I just had to get books for DD.

 

We do buy many books though as well, despite the number we always check out from the library. I have done it pretty frugally via library book sales (I drive to an excellent sale 25 minutes from my house twice per year to get children's paper backs for a quarter each), thrift stores, homeschool used book/curriculum sales, "clearance" sales at local used book stores, sometimes at garage sales, etc. I don't know exactly what my budget is for non-curriculum books...but I would say that I maybe spend a $100-$150 per year on average. Some years I am sure it is less than that.

[Chava_Raizel]

I've always been a bit of a book addict - I've collected books since I was a child. Sadly, most of my childhood books are gone now (my father was a teacher and he took ALL of my books for his classroom when he thought I was old enough to no longer want them. I was only able to rescue a small box of books, the rest were lost or destroyed in his classroom. It still breaks my heart to think of all those books. )

 

I currently have a home library totaling nearly 3000 books. We literally have books in every room of the house. And while I do buy a lot of books, I haven't spent as much as you might think. I've been able to buy many books used at library book sales, used bookstores, goodwill, etc. for far less than retail. That's not to say that I never buy new though. I spend a LOT of money at amazon.com. :blush:

 

I do have some standards for purchased books - I try to buy books that I know we'll want to own (I don't purchase twaddle), that I might not be able to get through our local library, and I try to find books that are either brand new or like new.

 

My ultimate goal is to have a library not only for my children, but for my grandchildren as well. I hope that my children will cherish their books and hand them down to their children.

 

If I had to estimate - I probably spend anywhere from $200 - $500 a year on books. This includes all their school books, plus anything extra I buy during the year.

[Walking-Iris]

I also treasure our books. I do get rid of books each year in a spring purge. But certain picture books I will store and save for future grand kids. I also have a few of my childhood books that I have handed down to my kids. Books are sort of essential to life imho. I don't consider them something to use and then get rid of. I really do harbor suspicions about people when I visit their homes and there are no visible books any where. LOL. Our house is over run with books. They are special to my children. I let them play with them as babies. They stack them, build with them, look through them, read them, and although I discourage it they teeth on them and scribble in them. They write their names in the cover, they try to reproduce the artwork, they use them as self chosen copywork. I love picture books. The artwork in many of them is excellent. I hand them down too. My 2 year old reads books that my 10 year old did at 2. I love reading Goodnight Moon and seeing those little teeth marks. I'm really sentimental about books. I only get rid of them when they are falling apart unusable or a particular story doesn't seem to be very well received. They're treated like sentient beings in my home. We talk about "sad book, happy book" to encourage them to have respect for the printed word and to not be intentionally destructive.

 

I do plan on having boxes of books to show my grand kids. The power that those books could have on your adult children shouldn't be underestimated. I can look at some of the books we have that were mine as a child and I still feel how I felt then. Those images take you back. Even certain twaddle is special. The Fraggle Rock books and Cabbage Patch books. I used to get lost in those images. I'm glad that I can share that with my kids. I can read Owl at Home and remember how I felt when he thought there were bumps in his bed. I'm not sure the power of it would be there if it were just a book and not *my* book that I actually held in my hand. That is just not an I Can Read book to use in learning to read time and then pass on. It becomes a beloved bedtime story. It becomes respect for the art and talent and work and love that Arnold Lobel puts into his stuff. Yes I do teach my kids some author/illustrator bios as well. I feel picture book authors are just as important as any other.

 

I think it's sad when people try to keep books "nice" by keeping them away from children. Children should be free to get into their books and not worry about messing them up or putting them back where they "belong" or waiting for an adult to introduce them. I buy them, but I'm not confused about who they belong to. It's sad when adults don't have a respect for how intimate a relationship a child can have with their books, or worse do nothing to encourage that relationship to begin with.

[Farrar]

I only buy if I feel like we'll get sustained use out of it, it's not available at the library, or it's an absurdly good bargain.

 

I have always had a lot of books. You do it slowly. We buy a lot used. But I also think there's some value to holding back. The longer I'm at this, the more that I see that the time we use any given resource is short. If the library has it, I'll almost always go that route.

[Murphy101]

Yes, the more I do this, the more reserved I am about what I consider truely worth keeping on the shelves. I purge once a year or so, but each year I buy less and purge less as I get better and better at refining what's worth buying and keeping.

[prairiewindmomma]

I bought a lot at the scholastic sales early on in our homeschooling career. I've gotten a lot pickier about what I buy as time has gone on. I think that having a reference library is essential. Beyond that, buy as funds allow. I have a really good historical fiction collection going. Most are titles my library doesn't carry. I also have a good collection of fiction that is interesting and fun to read. I haven't picked up as many science titles. They are easy to find at the library, and our reference and textbook collection covers most of the basics.

 

I do buy knowing that I've got lots of kids to enjoy the books. If I had an only, I'd be inclined to utilize the library more.

 

Are you on paperbackswap???? We get lots of great books that way...

[mathnerd]

Thanks a lot for all the replies! See, I always click and buy online when I "really need" a book, telling myself that I am "too busy" to search for other options to buy them. Your posts have been an eye opener and I need to figure out where to look for gently used great quality books. I have a lifelong relationship with books and have used them for enrichment, entertainment, escape from reality and learning. I will look at library sales, paperbackswap, craigslist, ebay and scholastic sales. Thank you for all the suggestions.

[nmoira]

I only buy if I feel like we'll get sustained use out of it, it's not available at the library, or it's an absurdly good bargain.

 

I have always had a lot of books. You do it slowly. We buy a lot used. But I also think there's some value to holding back. The longer I'm at this, the more that I see that the time we use any given resource is short. If the library has it, I'll almost always go that route.

 

It also depends on your interests. Most of the books we collect aren't in the library system: some of the more obscure (by North American standards) British literature and a good number of translated works from around the world. Patience is key, being able to set an acceptable price and wait until there's a copy available that doesn't break the budget. There are also a number of popular series the girls read and re-read; I don't think twice about purchasing books they love.

[Susie in MS]

I haven't read the responses, so this may be a repeat. How much a home library cost will vary from house to house. You can find real gems at a thrift store or yard sell for a quarter. You can find used dealers who will sell in bulk on the fs boards. YOu can buy second hand at Amazon Marketplace. ETC.

 

I find deals anywhere I can, but sometimes I do have to pay for new. My dh jokingly says he is glad thieves are stupid cuz the most expensive thing (collective thing) we own is our book collection. =)

[twoxcell]

Do you have any good thrift stores around? Most of my children's Lit and picture books came from thrift stores. I go to local ones frequently and about 2 times a year we go to a bigger city about an hour away and go to their thrift stores. I also find some things at a local used book store. I trade in books in there that we no longer need and use credit also.

[lillybell]

I agree with everyone on thrift store buys. Curriculum, I mostly buy online used but everything else like reference materials and literature, I buy at goodwill stores. I used to buy a lot at the scholastic yearly sales but not so much anymore because I used to come out spending about $150 all at one time. Once I discovered goodwill stores, I never looked back. I can walk out of that store with 10 or more books and spending less than $10. I do sometimes find a single book that cost $2-$3 but compared to the cost anywhere else, they are worth the price. So far I have a book library of about 500 books on my shelves. I keep it categorized by subject and keep tabs on my books with an app on my tablet. I actually have more than 500 books but I am not counting old books that I boxed because they got too old for them. I have about 5 big boxes of those. Not sure what I am going to do with them yet. :crying: Oh another good place to find books is at library sales. They have some really good sales at those. I have bought books as low as 25 cents a book. You can go here to find library sales in your area.

[Murphy101]

I rarely just click and buy books.

 

I keep a running list via amazon wishlist and some other info printed. That way when I go shopping, I can compare the prices for used online with my iPhone. Snap tell is AWESOME. After I've done some research in the best places to buy, then I buy it. Sometimes I just show my phone to the used book dealer and they lower their price. But keeping an ongoing list really keeps me from over spending. Worst case scenario, I buy used via amazon when I can't find a better deal elsewhere.

[boscopup]

Most of my book purchases are from thrift stores or library book sales, so they end up costing a quarter or maybe 50 cents. I've gotten a lot of good classics, books used in many popular curriculum (Sonlight, VP, etc.), and even some homeschool curricula!

 

For just "something to read", I hit the library. I go on the same day each week (or every 2 weeks, as our loan period is 2 weeks), and I signed up for Library Elf to remind me to either go to the library or renew. ;) If you get in a habit of going to the library *regularly* instead of just "when you need to", it's much easier to avoid fines. Also, I keep library books in two baskets, so they're usually easy to find on library day (though we did have one that wandered and got lost, and the wonderfully friendly librarian renewed it one more time, even though it technically had no renewals left - we found it the following week :D ).

[8filltheheart]

Well, I'll make you feel better. ;) I probably have thousands $$ worth of books and resources on my shelves. Very few qualify for the "scholastic" type books. We own probably 100 out-of-print books. We own classics series (like Harvard Classics). We own dozens of Teaching Company lectures. Then there are all our resource books, textbooks, etc.

 

However, I did not do it all at once. We have been accummulating materials for almost 2 decades.

 

ETA: I love browsing antique book stores. :)

[happypamama]

Library sales. We used to live in an area with amazing library sales -- like, they'd put barely used books on sale for a dollar or less (25-50 cents for children's books). I was able to buy so many "hmmm, this looks interesting, maybe for someday" books that way. I am still finding things, seven years later, that have been aging on my shelves and are just right for NOW. My dad often finds cool stuff at library sales, and I rarely turn anything down.

 

Our support group has a lending library, and we also have a free table at many events. I've picked up a lot of good stuff that way too. Like, a few years ago, someone left Beautiful Feet's Augustus Caesar's World on the free table, in excellent shape, so I snapped it up. My fifth grader is reading it right now, and it's just right.

 

I also have most of my college books, a large portion of which were Penguin paperbacks (I was a history major, and there are limited textbooks). So those are waiting until my kids are ready for them. And my mom routinely clears out HER shelves and brings me books, or I raid them when I go to visit her. My kids are, in many cases, reading the exact copies of books that I read as a kid.

 

Mostly, though, I never seem to throw anything away, ROTFL! I happen to have more storage space than money these days, so I buy select few books, but I still have tons.

[Amy M]

Oh, I am jealous of you Americans with access to libraries and their wonderful sales. I have been purchasing books for our library for the last year, mainly through used homeschool sites like homeschool classifieds, vegsource, MFW Yahoo sale forums, and here. I have looked at lists like SL, VP, MFW, TOG, BF, and FIAR enough to have a good memory of good books, and I have them all sent to my mom's house waiting for me. I'm going to get to see them next week! Yay!

 

I usually tried to get them for $3 or less per book to make it worth my time rather than just buying off of Amazon, but if I had access to library sales or thrift stores or garage sales, that would definitely be the way to go! Anyway, I'm a great one to give you a figure, since I just did this this last year, and I kept financial records of just what I bought for "book basket books" (since I'm using MFW). Basically this figure includes any book that isn't required for history or science or math curriculum etc. It includes picture books, historical fiction and nonfiction, science books like Magic School Bus, encyclopedias, even DVDs, or Sir Cumference type books (up through grade 8-ish, and even a couple of high school books). So far I've spent $2,575 for...I'm guessing...600 books maybe more?

 

Lillybell, I might be interested in buying some of those 5 boxes of books off of you. ;)

 

Now I have to think about making a shipment to Africa. :crying:

[Vida Winter]

We own too many books and have spent too much on them. However, you can save money by shopping library sales (they have been systematically getting rid of the best books), and getting a kindle or ipad with kindle app. Check out ebook lending at your library.

[Walking-Iris]

I don't dare add it up. I don't want to know!

 

yeah I'm sure all those 25-50 cents add up quick. I do notice I buy less each year. But then again we're only talking kid's books here....let's not add in all the books that are my dh's and mine personal collection.

[Soror]

I'm generally a minimalist but not with books. I buy as much as I can. A whole lot of mine have came from Goodwill and a fair amount used from Amazon. I try to buy classics whenever I find them even if they are not scheduled for a good while. Actually, I try to keep lots of lists in mind so I know a good deal when I see it. If I don't find it before it is needed then I'll check Amazon or other places used looking through various editions to find the best deal on the best condition.

[Kalmia]

I second lillybell's suggestion of library book sales. I have found library book sales in our area to have a better selection than the library they are being sold to support! Ours sell 10 childrens books for $1.00. For adults, books go for .10 for a paperback and .25 for a hard cover. Coffee table books and rare books are priced separately. Most importantly, you have to get to the library book sale early! It is worth it to become a member of The Friends of the Library group that puts on the sale (ours has a $25/year membership) so you can go on their preview day sale the evening before before the general public comes in. And if you work at the sale (putting out books or as a cashier), you get to pick out your books even before the preview sale.

 

In some areas the book sales are a competitive sport complete with elbowing and snatching right from under your nose. Other areas have more genteel customers. I find both great fun. The best strategy for either is to bring a number of bags to hold your treasures and be standing at the door when it opens.

[Tillmalo]

I love books..always have. I try to purchase mostly used, but sometimes I can't resist a new, shiny book. We have a flea market nearby that has a book vendor with cheap prices. My shelf space is pretty limited at this point, so I've been working on trading books on paperbackswap.com. Even with all the bargains, I still spend around $500 a year on books.

[Tillmalo]

I love books..always have. I try to purchase mostly used, but sometimes I can't resist a new, shiny book. We have a flea market nearby that has a book vendor with cheap prices. My shelf space is pretty limited at this point, so I've been working on trading books on paperbackswap.com. Even with all the bargains, I still spend around $500 a year on books.

[Hedgehogs4]

We read aloud every day and need a constant supply of material and running to the library is not working out, so I have been building a "home library" for my DS to use for the past 3 years. I just tried to tally up how much I had spent on it and it is running to several hundreds just on my Amazon account. This is in addition to all the curriculum and software that I purchase.

Admittedly I have bought many high ticket items including several encyclopedias, dictionaries, LOF series, SOTW series, several sets of classics, poetry compilations etc over the past few years. But, how do I "economically" build a home library for us? Does it take a lot of $$$ to build a collection? What is a reasonable budget for a "home library".

 

I love the quote, "When I have a little money I buy books. If there is anything left over I buy food and clothes." :001_rolleyes: This has pretty much been my life's philosophy, however, when we were in a place where things were tighter than usual, we actually had a budget for books and curricula set at about $100 per month. It was fine most months except the months we had to buy the next year's curriculum. Then it would go over of course, but some months I didn't spend that much so it all worked out. I would say that now we are doing Tapestry of Grace and my son is getting older (middle school age) books are getting more expensive and more in sheer number of volumes, so we try to buy used whenever we can. I always consider that what I would be paying in school tuition is so much more than what we spend, and we really keep things as simple as possible, so it is worth it.