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Lending library folks – a request
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Thanks, Robin for the info! I’m also curious what shelf books are? I’ve started to lend out books on a more regular basis (I only have hundreds, not thousands so far, so I’m no where near the point of charging anything), but was wondering what you might recommend in terms of a system to record who has what out, and do I give traditional due dates, or what? I’d love any advice!
I hope one day to do this larger scale, but I’m years off. I’m in the lower mainland of BC (Candada).
Rachel
This is the software that I use for my lending library – http://www.rclsoftware.com/mlmdescription.htm. I love it! I’m not sure how much longer it will be available though.
Shelf books are simply the books on my shelves. :). As opposed to the books stored in individual totes for each FIAR unit.
I have families who have young children doing FIAR. For each title in the FIAR curriculum I have pulled go-along books for the lessons in the guide and placed them in a tote. For example, The Story about Ping has the main title as well as books about China, ducks, buoyancy, etc. all pulled together in it’s own tote. If a family wants to study the Ping unit, they simply grab the tote and go. All the books are conveniently in the tote along with a list of the books and what topic each goes with. I have a tote for each title in vols. 1-3 and B4FIAR…79 in all. Totes vary in the number of books they contain, usually anywhere from 10-15 books. Some have more. Patrons who are only using the library for these totes pay $60 per year and can check out up to three totes at a time.
Other families are not using FIAR with their children. They simply join to have access to the 16,000+ books on the shelves arranged by Dewey in all subjects. They may check out as many books as they would like for 4 weeks with a possible 2-week renewal if no one has reserved a title. The fee for this is $75 per year.
Some families have children of many ages and want to use the entire library. Patrons pay $125 per year. I do prorate for those joining mid-year.
You can see what I’m talking about here. http://childrenslegacylibrary.blogspot.com/p/photos.html
The totes under the windows are the B4 totes. The others are in a closet that my husband installed shelves for that purpose.
Hope that helps. The fees paid in no way come remotely close to covering what I spend. I try to raise other funds by selling books and more recently becoming an Amazon affiliate. For years it all came out of our pocket but finances are very different now. I can only add more books as I raise the money.
As far as recording who has what, I simply created a “check-out sheet” in Word. It has the name of my library and contact info. I type in today’s date and the due date. Then I type everything the patron is checking out. I alphabetize the list to make it easier to find books on it. Then I print 2 copies, one for the patron and one for me. We both know what they have and when it is due. I file my copy in a notebook with numbered dividers under the due date. I am working very slowly at getting the books barcoded but it takes so much time! I don’t know if I’ll ever make it. In the meantime this works well. I have 34 families using the library this year and I’m able to keep up pretty well.
but was wondering what you might recommend in terms of a system to record who has what out, and do I give traditional due dates, or what?
I’m intrigued by the free WebLibrarian plugin for WordPress. It turns WordPress into a web-based, library catalog and circulation system. One of these days I’ll get some time to set it up and try it out with our books.
This is all great help, thanks! Historically I’ve only loaned a book or two at a time, but now that I’m lending out more, I’ve been forgetting who has what, and I really don’t want to lose books, or worse yet, make awkward situations between my friends and myself over “missing” books. I’m going to check out the suggested resources!
Rachel
Yes, how does one handle a potentially awkward situation of a book is lost, damaged, or ??? I’m not operating a lending library per se, but I do have friends who occasionally request to borrow books from me. They want to use these books for the entire school year, like one friend who is using my Module 1 for this whole year. I really trust her, but we don’t talk often, and I do want to make sure I get that back, since I plan on using it again.
Please share how you handle these situations!
@LindseyD – I have a record of who borrows and returns what in my Bookpedia software. I’ve never had anything not be returned as a result. If that happened, I would expect the person to replace the book. That said, there are books I won’t lend like my copy of The Chestry Oak or The Complete Book of Marvels or my Beatrix Potter first editions.
The WebLibrarian plugin for WordPress apparantly only works for WordPress.org sites, not .com blogs.
I’m really a dinosaur in the technology department. I still write checks! (Actually I had a debit card but it was hacked three times so I said forget this!) Paper is working well for me but I want to get my books barcoded so badly. The main disadvantage to the way I’m doing it is that I only have the record on that piece of paper. It’s not saved in the computer so if someone puts a hold on a book, I have to go through the check-out sheets to see who has it if I can’t remember (often I can but with hundreds of books being checked out each week, it’s getting harder for my aging brain.)
My books are shelved by Dewey, loosely. This means that most of them do not have the specific call number on them, and the reason is TIME! It takes SO MUCH TIME to get each book catalogued. I have Michelle Miller’s database (which is fabulous, btw) and for many books I’m entering, she already has all the info listed for that book, including the Dewey number. I simply click that I own that book, put my barcode label in and I’m done. For books that I own that she does not, I run a search on the subject and see what the Dewey number is. Michelle puts her historical fiction in the fiction section. I don’t. My historical fiction goes in its place in history with the corresponding Dewey number. The Winged Watchman in WWII, The Bronze Bow in Ancient Rome, etc., so I have to research the Dewey number there as well. I find myself avoiding working on this because of the time it takes. So I have nearly 14,000 of my nearly 17,000 books that are not done and every book I buy just puts me further behind, I’ve been toying with the idea of starting over and using a number/letter system I’ve been thinking of. I’ve been considering posting the question on the library loop so you may see that come through if you’re on it. But I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. BE WORKING ON YOUR BOOKS NOW! Don’t wait until you open with thousands of books because when you’re busy running the library itself, you likely won’t find time.
As for dealing with lost or damaged books, I have a policy letter outlining how the books should be cared for and emphasizing that the patron is responsible for the books in his/her possession. The patron must sign the letter. I usually point out, if someone is checking out my Chestry Oak, Book of Marvels (both of which are checked out) Andy and the Circus, Captain Kidd, etc., what the current replacement is for those books and that they might want to guard them with their lives. 🙂 My library is called Children’s LEGACY Library for a reason. My patrons know these books belong to my children and we are delighted to share them but they must do their part in preserving this legacy.
Sorry to always go on and on. I just wanted to let you know that, while I have been doing this for several years and may “appear” to have all the answers, I don’t…and I still have things I’m struggling with. Technology probably will always elude me. I don’t mind doing things the old-fashioned way. I prefer it. But I must get this database things under control for the sake of the legacy I’m trying to preserve.
The WebLibrarian plugin for WordPress apparantly only works for WordPress.org sites, not .com blogs.
That is correct. You can’t add plugins on WordPress.com. You have to host your own.
Yes there is! I’ve been on there this morning hashing out my new system. 🙂 Just search for homeschoollibrary.
Just starting to pick up books here and there for a library…found a Ahlberg book for .69 today: “It Was a Dark and Stormy Night” The illustrations all around the pages are lovely. I pray for this venture on and off, but now that this post has inspired me I will begin praying in earnest! What is the Yahoo group y’all are discussing?
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