HS Mom in NC Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 A few times a month. I do SOTW with the Activity Book. I check out the recommended books on the lists from the chapters for 3 weeks’ worth of school. I usually have to go to 3 local libraries to get all the books I want and we read most of them. Since you can return any book from any city library (we have 4) at any other city library, I can spend a couple of days going to different ones to check them out then I return them at the one across the street from my daughter's Tae Kwon Do class that she attends 3 days a week. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 In b&m school I believe my kids get to visit the school library 3 times per week, so I don't feel any responsibility to take them during the school year. Occasionally we go because we want to. During the summer, we probably average 2-3 times a month. For a while it had a place on our weekly schedule, but I let that fall by the wayside. Our house is full of books, and I want my kids to read the good ones we have before they get too old for them. When my kids get old enough for the regular youth book clubs, I think we will participate in those. Not sure how often they meet. Maybe once a month? They also have some interesting one-off classes at the libraries, which we attend if it works out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 We used to go to storytimes when my kids were tots. But at some point all the kids (including mine) started running around like idiots instead of participating or listening. So I decided it wasn't worth it for anyone involved. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ad astra Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I love, love, love the public library in the U.S. Almost feel guilty when I don't use it. I visit the branch of our city library that is located a few blocks away from home a few times a month and make sure we always have about 40 library books (the limit per account) at home. It took some effort to bring, return and renew the books on time, but I've saved a fortune this way and my kids, 4 and 3, both love reading. We're moving from East Coast to Midwest soon, and I'm very excited that the check-out limit is 200 items per account at a newly built large library in our new town! We plan to live next door to this one. :) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I am banned from our library by DH. I had over 300 dollars in overdue fines one year. Since then, I have been buying our own books. We live 30 minutes away from our closest library and we try to not "go to town" unless we have to. I would just be so bad about postponing trips to combine errands into one day and the next thing you know, I am late with books again. It is just a fault of mine. I have come to terms with it :p 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Frequently, since I can walk and am a volunteer. I put more than once a week but daily would probably be better because many days I am there twice! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I heard on NPR a story about a library system that had annual times where patrons could get their charges cleared for free. I forget where it was but it sounded great. It discussed how a lot of people were embarrassed and ashamed of their charges and a lot of people couldn't pay and the library didn't want that to be such a burden that the people never went because of it. I'm still always embarrassed when I pay though. We can pay our fines online, or at the DIY checkout machines, or at the desk. Only at the desk it involves facing a person - the other options should be great for those with embarrassment issues. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnwife Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I heard on NPR a story about a library system that had annual times where patrons could get their charges cleared for free. I forget where it was but it sounded great. It discussed how a lot of people were embarrassed and ashamed of their charges and a lot of people couldn't pay and the library didn't want that to be such a burden that the people never went because of it. I'm still always embarrassed when I pay though. Wait...this isn't something all library/library systems do? Every single library system I've been a part of has always had at least one "food for fines" week every year. You bring in a non-perishable food item for XX amount off fines (I think each item is worth .50 in fines in our current library). The donations go to the local food pantry. We are pretty rural. We attend storytime at the closest library once a week. We've also started attending a storytime at one that's not so close sometimes. I feel like we've read all of the children's books I care to from our local library. Which makes me sad as our oldest isn't 5! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 We used to go regularly to the kids' session, then when they grew out of that we went on an ad hoc basis, either when we felt like it or when we had holds to collect. This term I have started a regular weekly library time and I'm planning to stick with that for the time being. It's easy to do when it's in the weekly schedule, it ensures that I check all the books we have out each week, meaning we have less likelihood of lost or overdue books, and I think it's good for the kids to see the library as a regular part of their routine. Our library is less than 2km away so the kids can easily walk there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfknitter.# Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Wait...this isn't something all library/library systems do? Every single library system I've been a part of has always had at least one "food for fines" week every year. You bring in a non-perishable food item for XX amount off fines (I think each item is worth .50 in fines in our current library). The donations go to the local food pantry. We are pretty rural. We attend storytime at the closest library once a week. We've also started attending a storytime at one that's not so close sometimes. I feel like we've read all of the children's books I care to from our local library. Which makes me sad as our oldest isn't 5! No. While many libraries do this, it is not a standard amongst all of them. For those who said they never go, I'm just curious as to why. Do you use any of your library's online features or do you opt to only purchase for your personal library (either print or ebook)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share Posted March 23, 2015 I am banned from our library by DH. I had over 300 dollars in overdue fines one year. Since then, I have been buying our own books. We live 30 minutes away from our closest library and we try to not "go to town" unless we have to. I would just be so bad about postponing trips to combine errands into one day and the next thing you know, I am late with books again. It is just a fault of mine. I have come to terms with it :p Bummer! Maybe you can still use electronic books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share Posted March 23, 2015 We can pay our fines online, or at the DIY checkout machines, or at the desk. Only at the desk it involves facing a person - the other options should be great for those with embarrassment issues.Mine doesn't allow me to pay on the machines. But I found out I can check in books myself instead of dropping them off. IDK if it would help the librarians for me to do it so I'm on the fence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share Posted March 23, 2015 Wait...this isn't something all library/library systems do? Every single library system I've been a part of has always had at least one "food for fines" week every year. You bring in a non-perishable food item for XX amount off fines (I think each item is worth .50 in fines in our current library). The donations go to the local food pantry. We are pretty rural. We attend storytime at the closest library once a week. We've also started attending a storytime at one that's not so close sometimes. I feel like we've read all of the children's books I care to from our local library. Which makes me sad as our oldest isn't 5! I haven't heard of fine reliefs in many places I've lived, but I haven't searched because there's no way I could wait a year to check out books! I'll see if it's more common than I realize. My last library did have an automatic fee wave every time you checked out if it was less than X dollars. That was super great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CardinalAlt Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Weekly. I'd really have to re-organize our homeschool if our library weren't so convenient, so I'm feeling really appreciative right now! Going is part of Fun Friday, just 3-5m drive from the house to our little local branch - I pick up my many holds from the county wide system (I have two weeks to pick up, and everything is manageable online), while the kids browse books, DD enjoys magazines, DS plays in the kids area. I'm trying to help DD expand her independent reading tastes a bit, so on top of the regular series she's drawn to, she's got a list of other good books I found somewhere, and she looks for one a week to try. This week she's trying "The Secret Garden" - I'm excited! Fines haven't been a problem because of that great online system. Library prep each Friday involves the kids picking lots of books to return, and me going in and automatically renewing everything that needs renewing. If anything fails to be renewed, I make sure it's in the return bag. I think it would be much trickier if we didn't have the regular weekly trip! On top of all that, I do love getting ebooks for myself, the quiet minutes I have to sit and read while the kids play and read at the library, the way the librarians know and chat with my kids... Yup, I'm a library fan! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnwife Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I haven't heard of fine reliefs in many places I've lived, but I haven't searched because there's no way I could wait a year to check out books! I'll see if it's more common than I realize. My last library did have an automatic fee wave every time you checked out if it was less than X dollars. That was super great. Another surprise. Are there libraries that don't let you check out at all if you have any fine? Every library system I've used has allowed you to continue checking out until your fine is at least $10. So I've have a .10 fine forever it seems. When the kiddos and I go for storytime I take my driver's license, library card, and books to return. I don't take my purse. So I never have that darn .10. The librarians, smile, remind me of it, and continue checking out my things. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share Posted March 23, 2015 Another surprise. Are there libraries that don't let you check out at all if you have any fine? Every library system I've used has allowed you to continue checking out until your fine is at least $10. So I've have a .10 fine forever it seems. When the kiddos and I go for storytime I take my driver's license, library card, and books to return. I don't take my purse. So I never have that darn .10. The librarians, smile, remind me of it, and continue checking out my things. I think that's the way it was when I was younger: no checkout unless you paid your fine. I think it's more common to let small fines stand. My library I think is about $5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco_Clark Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 My goal is once a week but I end up going 2 or even 3 times many weeks. My request came in and I want the book NOW, or my 7yo ran out of books (he hates re-reading), or something forgot to be returned and will be overdue by our next scheduled visit. If I was better organized I'm sure I could slim it down but our library is less than a mile from our house. We can, and often do, walk there and we drive past every day that we drive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Sometimes, we are there daily. Other times, we can go once every few weeks. It averages out to about once per week, I think. This references our small town library that is less than a mile away. The older kids can get there & back on bikes or on foot without me worrying too much. Small checkout limit, limited book supply. However, they do allow us to check out movies so sometimes, that's why we go more frequently. We also pay for membership at a big library system about an hour away. We go there every six weeks or so, depending on what books we need to pick up & which ones we need to drop off. Large checkout limit, no fines on children's books when they are checked out on children's cards, ability to get books from multiple library locations. I check out e-audiobooks from local & big library system all the time. :001_tt1: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 I think it's interesting how many people also discussed e-book checkouts. I didn't even think about that while making the poll. I tend to forget to check out e-books anyway unless I'm going on vacation and will read in a hotel or something at night. Which happens so rarely. I voted once every 2 weeks. When my kids were younger we went weekly. The library is 20 min away in a direction we would never go otherwise. We used to pay for membership in the larger-town-next-door's library. It is closer, bigger, and really wonderful. Now we can get free ILL for anything that the larger library has and the kids aren't interested in just hanging out at the library very often, so we don't bother. I quoted the above because if you count e-book checkouts, I do that a couple of times a week. I am always reading one e-book and listening to another e-audio book. That way if I'm moving, I can listen. If I have a chance to sit, I can read. I read far less in physical book form, just those books not available in e-format. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea_lpz Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 I voted once a week but I usually just pick up reserves held in the front or return books so the trips are quick. To actually go as a family and browse / attend story time, etc., usually 1-2 x a week. Before homeschooling we went 1x a week and did story time but the kids are busier and doing more so taking out 1 hr + a week for that doesn't work for us so much anymore. Plus the kids don't find it as exciting anymore. Well at least not the older ones. The 5 year old would still love story time. The baby's too young though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 I used to go weekly or a few times a month. But the past 1.5 years have been insanely busy and it became necessary to stop going (there isn't a branch convenient to me or where I normally am). I was paying a lot in fines, so I switched to buying books at amazon for the boys. Typically, multiple boys will read the same book or series, so that helps me feel better about buying. I'm so glad to hear this, LOL. We're not the only ones. ;) Where we used to live, the library was about 2 miles away, near my parents' house. The girls were little then, and we did less school work at home. So at that point, we were at the library at least once a week, with our bright red wagon. Yup, we filled it up. But then we moved. The library is now about 13 miles away, not really on the way to anywhere, and the girls are older. We're not only doing more school work at home, but travel to more activities than in the past. I think another factor that made our library use drop off is that, at the old house, we really didn't have much else to do -- the house was small, the neighborhood was terrible, we had no TV, no play room or place to spread out, a very tiny yard, we had no money for other things. So we read books and watched Signing Time videos on the computer. But life has changed and opened up in many ways -- more room at home and outdoors, lovely parks and trails, beautiful scenery all around, a place to play and do crafts, a TV (but not cable), and more out-of-home activities for the girls. So we do those things, and still read books, but it's different. Because of the distance to the library here, we were going to spend the money on fines and/or gasoline to return the books on time. Well... Amazon Prime is so nice, you know? And since we're past the preschool picture book or board book stage, the books we buy are building our home library. HTH. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianna Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 I go every 2-3 weeks. I would go more but my 3 & 4 year old make it a not so pleasant experience ;). When we lived in MO we could request as much as we want and stop at the drive thru window...miss those days. Here they will only hold an item if it is already checked out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor_dad Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 We go to the library 2-3 times a week. We have 2 local branches under a mile. When there isn't snow on the ground, we bike/walk there about 1/2 the time and have since the youngest was 4. At our old house where the walk was more scenic and less gritty, we always walked from when the youngest was 2. Proximity to parks and libraries and at least bikability to work are housing requirements for us. We go to the downtown library about once a month. We are one of the *very* few patrons who use the locked compact storage stacks in the children's area. It has all the pre-1980 books. Depending on their views the children's librarian either find us delightful or disturbing. We also make periodic heavy use of our state run ILL system. It allows 10 requests at a time per card and with multiple cards we have never gone over 20 at a time. It is great for vintage stuff from rural libraries who have never thrown out anything and for more academic things from the universities. We were much heavier ILL users when DS8 was younger. He read most of the books in the Usborne and Kingfisher Reading Programs and most of the Garrard Biographies from ILL. Nowadays things like Landmark histories and quality literature are generally locally available. We have around 50-60 books out at any given time. I try to return 10-15 a week so we don't loose track. We pay a little over $30/yr in fines. We unschool and read alot; last year DS8 was a first grader and read 225 books ranging from Garrard bios to "Fellowship of the Ring" and Wildwood. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 I just went again tonight! I love books! And exclamation marks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm919 Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Every week, and I use the ebooks borrowing system all the time too. Our library has a 50 book limit on physical books plus a 7 book limit on ebooks. The children's librarian offers to override it for me, because with 2 children it is getting so that I can't take anything out for myself if they both want 25 books! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor_dad Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Every week, and I use the ebooks borrowing system all the time too. Our library has a 50 book limit on physical books plus a 7 book limit on ebooks. The children's librarian offers to override it for me, because with 2 children it is getting so that I can't take anything out for myself if they both want 25 books! I can't even imagine. Here kids of any age can get cards with a 50 item limit, plus my adult 50 item limit card, plus I have a professional educator/Homeschool card with a 100 item limit. We never come close to maxing it out, but that is sort of the point... why limit it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyful Journeys Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I just found out my library has a drive through pick up window. Mind. Blown. We'll be there weekly for sure now. I'll probably start taking them to story time type things again come the summer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Yell Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 "More than once a week" But that's also because Diamond works there M/T/W/F. :lol: But for the rest of us, 1-2 times/month. Just to pick up books I ordered online and to return them and pay my fines. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I can't even imagine. Here kids of any age can get cards with a 50 item limit, plus my adult 50 item limit card, plus I have a professional educator/Homeschool card with a 100 item limit. We never come close to maxing it out, but that is sort of the point... why limit it. I'm not sure what my current limit is. I think 100? The max I've had checked out is about 36, and I'm trying to cut down on that, especially since winter is over and it's not such an inconvenience to go, well, anywhere. My car windows fog up in the winter. I've had to scrape the *inside* front windshield too many times this past winter, which is hard to do because it's slightly concave. The heater takes too long to warm the car up. In Richardson, TX, the public library didn't have a checkout limit. When I asked the librarian about it, she was like "well, if you want to rent a few trucks and spend hours upon hours checking out all the books, go ahead. As long as you pay the fines if you don't return them on time". I can understand a checkout limit in *small* libraries though. Like the library in a town of about 2000 people where the books were in roughly the space of my living room (okay, maybe a bit bigger, but still - my living room is pretty small). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 At least once a week, sometimes more. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 We are blessed to live within 5 minutes of our city's library. We go for 1-2 hours every Friday morning and more often during the summer for drop in crafts, etc. It's probably my favorite building in the whole world other than my own house. :) :thumbup: This used to be us, before we moved one county up. We were at the library so often, my family would tease me about it. "Have they put beds in there for you yet?" My girls learned to read sitting on the huge bean bag chairs, practicing on Poppleton, Franklin, Little Bear, Mr. Putter, Berenstain, Seuss, and more. They would read, I would read, then we'd fill up a wagon with books, check out, and go home and read some more. At least once a week, that was our routine. ;) Good memories. Fairytalemama, your post makes me nostalgic for those days, and I'm not usually wistful about them. I think we'll make time for the library this Friday! :001_wub: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 The children's librarian offers to override it for me, because with 2 children it is getting so that I can't take anything out for myself if they both want 25 books! I can't even imagine. Here kids of any age can get cards with a 50 item limit, plus my adult 50 item limit card, plus I have a professional educator/Homeschool card with a 100 item limit. We never come close to maxing it out, but that is sort of the point... why limit it. We have one of those small town libraries. One library card per family with a 15 book (including audiobooks) limit total. With five kids, that doesn't mean much, ya know? The head librarian, after some lobbying work, agreed that all homeschooling families would have a 25 book limit on their cards. That gave us some breathing room when we really needed it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I normally try to go once every two weeks, as that is the length of a checkout. With pregnancy and new baby, we went months without going at all. We just went a few weeks ago, and I renewed at the two week mark instead of going again. I think we'll go next week though. The branch we go to is close to karate, so there are two times a week that we can go easily. I would LOVE a drive thru for hold pickup! We at least have the drop boxes to drive up to to turn things in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather62 Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Once a week. I volunteer there and it's the only place I get books for myself. Last year I read over 100 books and all of them came from the library. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 bump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 We have one of those small town libraries. One library card per family with a 15 book (including audiobooks) limit total. With five kids, that doesn't mean much, ya know? The head librarian, after some lobbying work, agreed that all homeschooling families would have a 25 book limit on their cards. That gave us some breathing room when we really needed it. I thought it was sad that the librarian knew we were homeschoolers just because we wanted to checkout lots of books. Ours went from 10 to 50. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto4inSoCal Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 We don't go very often. I have 3yo twins who are very active so the library isn't always the best place for us. I also have a bad habit of turning in books late. I end up paying fee's every time I check out books. Our library is walking distance and I keep promising myself we will start to walk there weekly but it doesn't happen. Maybe this will be our year to start :) . The twins will be turning 4 in Sep. so hopefully it will be easier? What I've done instead is go to thrift stores and buy lots of books used. There's a store that sells used books for .10 and I always come home with piles of books. I've found lots of good literature books at that store. The only problem with that is storage. I'm planning on buying another couple of bookshelves this summer though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Once or twice a week. We go at least once for book basket books, and it seems like we're always having to pop in and grab another audiobook or something for DH or me. Free stuff. Who can resist? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 When my kids were younger we went ALL the time. Story time. Craft time. Hang with friends. 15 books a kid a week... THEN... They raised the fines from $0.05/day/book to $0.25/day/book. A little late, and I should have bought it off of Amazon... AND... My kids hit the YA age, and most of what my library cares are the typical vampire, love, clique, etc. JUNK. So, we very rarely go. I buy books. I shoot for mostly used. We read them. We sell them used or hand them down. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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