Bree Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 I am addicted to amazon and since I have 4 kids I will reuse most of them anyway ;) So we buy most and borrow some for fun when we get around to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilaclady Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 We buy a lot but we also borrow a lot. We borrow about 30+ books every week from the library but if I find the books used I tend to buy. My kids read the books the like over and over again and I think it's better for retention Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 I usually buy our books, but most of them are used at less than half price. I also try to buy books for the future, so I will (theoretically, anyway) spend less as Ariel gets older. Picture books and things I think will only be read once have to be either super-cheap or checked out from our (tiny) library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaJ & BabyK Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 I buy and buy and buy! We have a few hundred that need to be read. Yes, I have a problem but I justify it by saying every homeschool needs a library. :thumbup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Mainly buy (used) these days. I have a large home library and my kids love to revisit old favorites. I find my library has a limited selection and no ILL (well unless I want to pay $5/book whether they find it or not :huh: ) and no holds (unless I want to pay $1/book :glare: ). I have a good thrift store where I go a couple times a month. If I donate 2 bags of books/clothes/toys (easy to find around my house..still cleaning out some storage boxes from moving) I get a 20% off coupon. So Chapter books are .64@ and picture books are .44@. I think some schools/homeschoolers donate to them, because I always find series, classics, leveled readers, tons of non-fiction and picture books. Us too ILL is $8 a book (it is courier charge so I guess not if they don't find it), reserving a book is $2 and it is just getting a call when your name gets to the top of the list - so it might be next week, month etc. It always amazes me when people here say they just put all the books they will want on hold a couple of weeks in advance. Our library is OK though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Our local library is horrid, but we pay to be able to borrow from the Big City library over an hour away. Children's books checked out on a kid's card don't incur library fees at that system! We borrow almost everything, but when I can't find something, I'll buy it. (We'd go broke if I bought enough books to keep my oldest reading as much as she does now.) Our six full-size & five half-size bookshelves are full, so it isn't like I never buy books or that we don't have plenty here. Some of my shelves are double-stacked and there are books that are waiting for me to make room for them somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 We live in rural England with a absolutely horrendous library system. I've probably found about a dozen books that I've used for homeschooling in the library in the 13 years that we've been homeschooling. I have borrowed a few books (texts and readers) from friends, but the vast majority have had to be purchased. I do buy used as much as I can, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Our library has free inter-library loan over almost the entire state, so why wouldn't I borrow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Our library has free inter-library loan over almost the entire state, so why wouldn't I borrow? We used to live in Illinois. ILL was free, easy, and plentiful. :thumbup1: Then again, that was pre-kids when I had lots of time to read the stuff I wanted to read! No longer in IL, our local library charges for ILL more than buying used books on Amazon. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 We used to live in Illinois. ILL was free, easy, and plentiful. :thumbup1: Then again, that was pre-kids when I had lots of time to read the stuff I wanted to read! No longer in IL, our local library charges for ILL more than buying used books on Amazon. :glare: I'm in Illinois. I do feel like I need to clarify my above post. I do use the library (especially ILL) a lot. BUT the late fees (I always have late fees no matter how hard I try not to) and the fact that most ILL books are only checked-out for 2 weeks at a time means that we don't really get too much quality use out of some of them. Mostly I use it as a preview. Especially for science and history recs. I don't want to buy blind a trade history book SOTW recommends for example and it be ridiculous or inappropriate. And some have been. Also our local library switched ILL programs and now it's statewide. But the system is really weird to figure out. I'm also having a hard time figuring out how to search for books at our specific local location since they switched. It has really put a halt to our library use. I'm confident buying fiction/literature. I know what I'm looking for. But non-fiction science and history for kids I have to see before I buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weederberries Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 I'd say we have about an even split. I borrow many books from the library, but we also buy plenty of books that I think we will read again, use long term or just want to own on our shelf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyMandy Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Our library often doesn't have what I need and interlibrary loan ends up being not that much cheaper than buying it and having it in my library for the rest of the children to use later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Rarely borrow. Our public library system has carefully removed all books of any quality whatsoever, replacing them with DVDs, graphic novels, pulp fiction, idiotic picture books, and computer games. When I tried to find a modern translation of Augustine's City of God, there were 22 copies of various novels of that name in the system, and one battered copy of the outdated 1876 translation of Augustine. On the bright side, a third of our home library now consists of the worthy adult and child literature, bought for fifty cents or a dollar, sent to the public library discard store. ETA: bookfinder.com is your friend. Searches Amazon, searches everyplace. "The Google of dead books." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Buy. No library, so no choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 I'm a mixed bag. I've done it both ways, and will probably do it both ways again. :) When we were using SOTW, I only bought SOTW and the Usborne Encyclopedia of World History. Everything else I borrowed. This year, we used Sonlight. I bought all the books (used). Next year, I'm using Sonlight again, and I've bought about half of them (used) and will borrow the rest from a friend, so technically won't be using the library for DS1's stuff. I will be borrowing from the library anything I use for DS2 as tag-along material (this core is above DS2's head, but he can be in the same relative time period, though if we don't get a book some weeks, that's fine too - it's just first grade). The following year, I plan to use TOG, and we will buy only the books that are used long term. The rest I can get from the library. If they don't have the exact recommended book, I'll just substitute whatever the library has. If we're learning about China, we don't need a specific book on China. There are a gazillion books on China that will suffice. For science, we've been 100% borrow from the library, as we haven't really "done science" much the last few years (my son has learned tons of science - we just haven't done it formally as a subject on our schedule). Literaure often gets purchased. For second grade, I made a list, then bought all those books (some new, some used) - they were all GOOD books I knew I'd want to keep. Throughout the year, my son went through the stack bit by bit. It was nice having those books in-house. Though now that he reads a book in 2 seconds flat, I borrow a lot more. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewdropfairy Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Lit and curricula we buy used whenever possible. Our local library is pretty small, and used is better for the budget than buying everything brand spanking new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tillmalo Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 We do a little bit of both. We buy and trade used books as much as we can. We also use our local library quite a bit, mostly for books that we read for enjoyment and not necessarily for "school." Anything that we are going to need for a longer or unknown period of time, I will try to buy so that we are not rushed to get it returned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm_burriss Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 We use the library some but mostly buy. Partly because I like owning the books and partly because I am horrible at turning books back in on time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandymom Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 I get everything from the library I can, and buy the rest (mostly used or Paperback Swap). Since I have kids in 3 levels of TOG, we have LOTS of books that we use each year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 I buy the majority of our books. That way I don't have to spend all the time going through lists and trying to get things on time. I did that one year, never again if I can help it. I also have five children going through curriculum, so things are used over and over. My oldest DD is renown for reading a book 4, 5, even 6 times if she really enjoyed it so I like having them available, she learns something new each time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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