Are you "famous" at your library?

[Kathleen in VA]

We go frequently, but we are more well known at the very small library bookstore run by a few volunteers. I usually buy a huge stack of books each time.

 

A couple times I have been in there with ds6 and ds3 and done this and the volunteer has told the story of how a woman came in with a toddler and and an infant in a sling and bought a huge bag of books and said they were going home on the bus. :eek: She just couldn't believe the woman could handle both kids and the bag of books.

 

Of course, "that woman" was actually me three years ago. :lol: I usually drive now. :auto:

 

Cute story - thanks for sharing.:)

[Peek a Boo]

Are you aware of the surplus book program from the Library of Congress. Distance might make this impractical, but I remember that our homeschool group used this and I got some cool things from it.

 

 

you're right --that would be impractical for us in TX, lol! i might see if my li'l bro can swing by and grab a box of books --if he gets anything good HE can ship them to me.....

 

BUT--- the Half Price Books warehouse gives away free books on Saturday mornings. To us, THAT is worth the drive north of dallas. :D i have taken home boxes upon boxes of books and gotten some GREAT stuff!

[tricia]

So much so that when a movie or book comes in that one of my children has ordered online from another library that if it doesn't seem appropriate they just send it back knowing full well that I will anyway when I come in to pick up! But our town only has 700 people in it and we have lived here for 16 years. Most often I forget my card at home and they all have it memorized and just type it in when I am ready for check out! Gotta love em.

 

Tricia

http://www.mommyx12.blogspot.com

[Testimony]

Not only do they know me by name, they know my whole family. I do programs for the children's department at my library too. So, that helps. Whenever I order books from other libraries, the librarian ends up buying it.

 

This is how bad it is at my library. One day, I was just going into the library and the head librarian at the reference desk gets out this CD on multiplication done to song. She said, "I ordered this with you in mind. You can be the first check it out before anyone else." :lol:

 

 

Blessings in your homeschooling journey!

 

Sincerely,

Karen

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

[Matryoshka]

Oh absolutely. I usually just say "you have books for me" and they go get them without even having to ask my name. :) I do a lot of ILL, though if my local library has it I'll make sure to get it off their shelves instead. I love our librarians.

 

Someone sent me this the other day... thought it was great!

 

[dangermom]

We do holds through the computer, ILL, reference questions (did you know that they TALLY up the reference questions to justify the number of reference librarians they need to have on hand?).

 

Oh yes, when I work the reference desk it's my job to tally the questions, the holds, and how many people use the computers. Ask more questions, people! :D

[WTMindy]

The other day I got a phone call from the library saying, "You left your green crate here." My dh said, "How in the world did they know whose crate that was?" I just laughed and said, "They know me well there!!" I take cookies to them and chat about books. We have been going there several times a week for about 10 years now! :-)

[klmama]

Yes, they all know me. The head librarian knows all of us by name and will come over to greet us if she hasn't seen us for awhile. The assistant librarians know us, too, and if I call about a book that the computer claims I still have out that I think I've returned, they immediately take it off my card because they know if I have it, I'll return it as soon as it turns up. I often get my own shelf for holds, too, or my own basket. It makes me feel special. ;)

[anewday]

I go every week - so I guess we are. LOL The librarians all know us - most by name (kids too) and are all very nice! We love our library!!:001_smile:

[anewday]

And I have often had small fines "disappear" from my account over the years as well. They know how many books we have checked out on a regular basis and that we try to keep up. I don't expect or request that they extend this grace - they just have! :D

[RoughCollie]

We live in a small town. The librarians all know us, mostly because I talk to them a lot, we reserve and check out tons of books, and from time to time I run up large fines.

 

RC

[gardening momma]

How many books do you all have out at one time?

 

I usually have between 4 and 19 out at any given time. My highest was 27 books once. That's for the whole family of 4.

I usually have about 25-30 checked out at a time. I also keep about 85 books on my list at the library's website (the limit is 100). When I think of a topic I want to get books on (usually for dds), I find them online and put them on my list. My library's website is pretty good, but sometimes I have trouble finding books when I don't have titles to go by. Their search is o-k. So I go to Amazon and search there, then see if my library has it. Then it's pretty easy to request items from my list and note where I want to pick them up.

 

I usually pick up from the drive-thru, so I'm not well known (yet). Of course, we've just started homeschooling. I never used to like to go inside because I found it very difficult to find decent books in the children's area. It was much easier online. (They do have a lot of decent books, but they have so much junk!) But they do have a children's play area with lots of puppets and stuffed animals that my dc really like, so lately we've been going in more often. I still request to pick up at the drive-thru lane, and I do that, and then if we have time, we'll go inside.

[Crissy]

Yes, but not because of our check-out history, though it is extensive.

I have the honor of being the mom of their favorite young volunteer (he's been serving weekly since his eleventh birthday).

[Jean in Newcastle]

I am known as the "lady with the suitcase" - it is big and it rolls! I usually have at least 100 books out at a time. I've gotten calls from the library before to please come and clean off my hold shelf. The librarians have brought new employees by to meet me as part of their employee orientation! If I have a weird fine show up - even if I can't find the book on the shelf, they give me the benefit of the doubt. Only once did I have to go in red-faced to return the missing book I had actually had all along. I do support the library quite a bit though - I often do bring books in a day late and of course pay those fines.

[Hannah]

The library here is terrible. Everyone acts as if they hate their job and are just grumps. I swear the books are the same books they still had here back when I was in high school. There is no inter-library loan or computer reservation system. When we moved here and they were creating our cards, they actually typed our names on rectangular name tags with an old typewriter and stuck them to a card.

 

This sounds like our library, except for the bad attitudes. People are very friendly, helpful and positive at our library.

 

There is just no money for books available as there is such a lot of need elsewhere. Last year, the library got the equivalent of US$ 1000 for ALL their books + the small amount they made at the library sale from donated books.

 

They did however get very much needed fresh paint and carpets as it came out of the municipality's maintenance budget.

 

In the children's section there is one shelf of artist biographies (and I know exactly which they are), same with composers, science books, history books, etc. The books that they do have are often 30 years old. Of all the books recommended in the AG for SOTW2, they have 2 (Shakespeare stories and I can't recall which other).

 

Adults can take out 5 books each, and children 3 books for two weeks at a time (and adults can't take children's books), there are no inter-library loans, no music CD's, no audiobooks or DVD's.

 

I have a monthly book budget and over the years we've built up a nice library from online stores, used bookstores and Bookmooch. I walk around with a booklet of list in my purse of SOTW recommended, Sonlight readers, 1000 good books etc and I get the biggest thrill to find something on my list - especially if it's at a good price!

 

These days, we go to the library to get specific out-of-print South African children's literature for our history program. I very seldom pick up anything else. Fast internet connection has also made a huge difference to our homeschooling.

[katalaska]

We visit our library AT LEAST once a week and borrow materials through the regular system, the regional system, and the inter-library loan system. Plus, our family has five library cards. All this means that at any one time we can have holds of fifteen different varieties!

 

A couple of years ago they reserved an entire shelf for our family's holds--in the back room (so they could have the shelves directly behind the front desk for all the other patrons' holds).

 

We weren't the only family like that, though. They know a couple of others that do the same thing (I'm betting they're fellow homeschoolers!).

 

Our city is 130,000-150,000 so it's not huge but it is big.

 

Our librarians don't joke with us but we joke with them. In fact, today I said (again, but to a different librarian this time), "I'm surprised you don't run away when you see us coming!" :tongue_smilie:

 

One librarian I said that to once said it made no difference whether they helped me with my five accounts or five separate people--it's the same amount of work and time involved. I thought that was the right attitude. :001_smile:

[ummix3]

The other day to pick up some books on request and my girls picked up some (more) books. When I went to check mine out the librarian looks at the computer and then at me and says, "Do you have 39 books at home?:confused: It says here you have 39 books checked out". I says, "Well , yeah I guess so" :001_huh: lol then she says, "Oh ok just thougt I would let you know".

 

 

nycmom

[Lizzie in Ma]

You are Elizabeth B. as well as I, I don't suppose you were as foolhardy as I and married a Borden? With a name like Lizzie Borden and the huge amount of stuff I get from the library, they know me alright. :lol: More infamous, really.

[T Baer]

Me too! And our library system doesn't charge overdues -- they really are wonderful. All they ask of me is that I remember to renew (which I can do over the computer!), and I don't even manage that. It is a small library, and all the staff know our family by name. Despite our failings, they are very nice to us.

 

The checkout people know us by our last name and sometimes automatically get our books on hold for us. DS talks with the children librarian as he often ask them for help in finding various types of books. This is a tradition (?) that was past on from both sides. DH was a regular library attender and so was I. The librarian knew us (my brothers and I) by last name as they couldn't pronounce my first name.

I have a friend that will drive to her old library because they know her even though there are closer libraries near her. That's dedication.

[LizzyBee]

You are Elizabeth B. as well as I, I don't suppose you were as foolhardy as I and married a Borden? With a name like Lizzie Borden and the huge amount of stuff I get from the library, they know me alright. :lol: More infamous, really.

 

No, my last name isn't Borden. But that didn't keep the kids in elementary school from teasing me with the Lizzie Borden rhyme, and my last name then didn't even start with a B then. :glare:

 

I married a Beatty who pronounces it with a long e instead of a long a. People are always asking us, "Now is it B(ee)tty, or B(ay)tty?"