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Using the library
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I cannot believe that I owe $8.00 to the library! I don’t have a good routine in place for requesting books and obviously, returning books! Can anyone share how they efficiently use the library for multiple subjects? Once I make the request the books usually take 3-5 days to come in.
Have a weekly or monthly library day where you return things that are due. We go a few times a month and each time I hop online to see what is due soon, ask children if they’re done with those, and return them. It helps that my library has a drive thru so I can swing by without having to unload 8 kids and a wheelchair to do returns. 😉 I can also renew books online if nobody has requested the item.
I know some people write due dates on the calendar. I think if I were to do that I would write a date a few days BEFORE the books are due.
Also, our library emails you three days before items are due back. (hence I don’t need a calendar).
I just realized yesterday that I also had an overdue fine, something that is rare because we are such regular library visitors! It just slipped up on me as I suppose it did for you also.
Recently, our library visits have been less regular – still going weekly, but not always on the same day, so we had materials due on different dates which made it a little mixed up.
We WERE always going to the library on Friday, or sometimes Thursday if we had other plans for Friday. Therefore, I knew when materials were due and we had consistency. Can you access your library account from home to check when items are due? I usually check it the day before we go to see if I need to renew something. I think I need to get back into our regular habit of going on Fridays again. Like Charlotte Mason pointed out, habits make life easier to manage!!
One thing that helps us is that I have the library notify me by email when I (or the kids) have materials due soon. They notify about 2-3 days in advance, and then I put “Ret/Ren WPL” on my calendar for that date so I can either hop online to renew my library materials or make a run to return them. If something isn’t renewable & we don’t need/want to do a library day, I just drop them off in the drive-up return slot.
If your library offers these options, it would probably help to take advantage of them.
Also, mark all due dates or tape receipts ON YOUR CALENDAR. Keep ONE place for all library books. We use a basket/tote. And if your library has any kind of email notification (ours does) then USE it. We always went every single Thursday morning, rain, shine, or snowstorm, and took most everything back with us. If we needed to keep it, then we renewed it. Our library also has an online renewal system, which is very, very nice!
Our notifies us 3 days before they are due also! Via email. Such a life saver I just click and print and send it off with a kid to go find and put in a bag into the car
Going on the same day every weeks helps, I can tell by looking at my $8.00 fine that I have fallen out of the habit. After I check out books I walk back over to the library catalog computer and renew my books so that I can keep them for six weeks. Doing this before I leave the library has been very helpful.
Don’t feel too badly. We had a $10 fine last week. I accidentally checked out books on my husband’s card (we have a joint account) without realizing it…quite a few times since January. lol We use the card on our keychains, and I had hubby’s keys. We have the same 2 keys but he has YMCA cards on his, and I didn’t pay attention to that detail.
Long story short we paid back our fine with cans for the food pantry (they do that around holidays) THANKFULLY! They wave a $1 per can.
Oh and we get email notifications. I wish I would have looked more closely and had seen MY HUBBY’S NAME instead of mine!! Then I would have caught it a lot sooner. Lesson learned!
Tara
I agree with others, although I tend to still have problems… lol.
I recently started adding library book due dates to my Google Calendar. The Library also emails me about 4 days before.
I do the Google calendar thing too – -and my library emails me. And I still occasionally have a fine. When the fine is less than $10, I figure it’s a donation to a good cause. When it’s over that, I try to return the books to our bookmobile, since the bookmobile doesn’t charge fines (at all, ever).
I have no suggestions on how to keep library books separate. We use a basket for our library books. (And they still end up under the couch.) I have outlawed having library books upstairs (and I still find them there. Of course, I immediately take them downstairs to the library basket.)
My current problem with library books is that I reserve them online and pick them up, sometimes 2 or more weeks later and often, I can’t remember why I’ve reserved a book. I can’t remember if it was a recommended read for me or for a child. Sometimes I reserve books intending to look them over for use in future years. I wish our reserve feature had a “comment” section – so I could leave myself a note about why I reserved a particular book.
Okay now I don’t feel so bad. We can set up files online and add the book titles. I did this for Outdoor Secrets and TQ so all I have to do is request it. My problem stems from request books being ready for pickup on Thurs and we don’t go to the library again until let’s say that following Wed but I need the book before then. That’s how I fell out of routine…along with a baby…we were all over the place! Does that make sense? Maybe you can share how in advance you actually request your books. Some of it is certainly laziness!
Well, I know the travel time between our libraries – I can figure out about how long it will take to get a book from a library in our system or the library (or bookmobile) that I want to pick it up at. I also know when the bookmobile is in our area (once every 4 weeks). So that helps me plan somewhat. The library in town is about 15 minutes away, so if I need a book sooner than that, I try to request it and plan an errand day.
I still mess it up! And then we do without and try to catch it later. The worst thing for us is when someone develops an interest in a certain subject and I have to wait days (or weeks) to get the book that woud fit. Sometimes the interest in the subject is gone, and it seems there’s no getting it back!
I used to go every Saturday morning or every other; the same day was the key for me. Now we get due notices by email which is great, and my librarian almost always deletes my late fees (or she renews the books for me). She is wonderful! But she loves homeschool families that cycle a lot of books through her library. I also used to keep the slips on the fridge door where I saw them every day and I would cross them off as I took them back.
Old post but thought I would mention that our library allows teachers (homeschoolers included!)to check out an unlimited number of books and there are no late fees. It’s worth asking your librarian about.
Note: My children do not have individual cards since I’m the only one that qualifies for this deal, but it is totally worth it. We were paying big fines before trying to keep up with all the books. Also, check with your surrounding counties. This library system is not in our county, but they allow us to be members.
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