Lending Library Suggestions, Please

And I just want to add one thing then I’ll shut up.  Many of you have said you have lots of books and you loan them out.  YEAH!!  Don’t think that by all my gabbing that I’m saying anyone needs to do what I’m doing.  The fact that you are blessing those around you by making your books available is a blessing!!  And also please don’t think you have to have millions of books before you can open a library.  If you have 500 books and you feel led to do this, then do it!  God can multiply what you have exponentially to fulfull HIS purposes.  It’s not about how many books, or bar codes vs. pockets.  It’s about getting great books with great ideas into the hands of the next generation and being stewards of what He has blessed us with.

Sara,

I do charge a fee.  There are different “levels” based on what part of the library a family wishes to use.  For access to the shelf books, the fee is $50 per year.  The same for FIAR totes.  If a family wishes to use the entire library, the fee is $90 per year.  Of the libraries I know about, my fees are the quite a bit cheaper…but they will go up some this coming year.  Liz and Emily Cottrill have been fussing at me for years that I’m too cheap.  And my library has grown so much in the last two years that it’s time.  So beginning in August, my fees will be shelf books – $75, FIAR $60 and entire library $125…which is still less expensive than others but more in line.  $75 is less that we pay for TV for a month here.  I do offer to allow families to pay monthly if they need to.  There are those who criticize the fact that I charge a fee and say that I should offer it for free as a “ministry.”  There’s a lot I could say about that…

So far I haven’t done the business thing.  Last year I was in the red over $9000.  (!!!!)  This year, though, I don’t have the “big” expenses I’ve had in years past like bookcases so, even though I won’t come close to making a “profit” (not that I ever could nor is it the point) the gap will be closer so I may need to do something more official.

I don’t usually like to talk about the money aspect, but it’s something to realistically think about.  If I were only lending books that I buy for my family, it wouldn’t be as much of a consideration.  But when we decided to open a library, I had to broaden my horizons and collect books that my boys will probably never be interested in, but some of my library kids love.  Often my patrons come in with a list from their curriculum (and I ask them to) and I do my best to get as many of those as I can, as long as they fit the scope of the library.  It’s very often that a family will join for $50 and I’ll turn around and order $100 (or $200) worth of books that they need for their studies and hoping it will benefit other families as well.

I haven’t been very creative in raising money to fund the library.  Sometimes I sell duplicate books.  I don’t actively shop for books to resell although some do.  Michelle Miller has an annual “yard sale” to benefit her library each year.  The funds just come out of our family’s budget.  That may not be something everyone can do and there have been times I’ve made hard decisions.  (I went without a winter coat to buy The Chestry Oak…I didn’t freeze, just my coat was VERY old but I hate shopping for clothes so I didn’t mind.) 

You might break this part to your hubby gently…

There are differences, yes. The supplies I use from Demco are (supposed to be) archival. They do not yellow or crack as they age which is very important to me for preservation of these old gems. I use Demco’s laminate for the same reasons. When I was a music major back in the early 80’s, I used contact paper to laminate some of my piano collections. Today the laminate is cracked and yellow and has even seemed to smear some of the ink on the cover. Book repair supplies are expensive, I admit. I cringe every time I place an order but so many of my books are difficult to replace so I bite the bullet and make the investment.

This is an old thread so I see I need to go back and update some of the info. 🙂