library usage?

[christina101902]

I know the pros to having your own books. However, has anyone used their library for atleast 90 percent of the reading/storytime books and survived? My library allows a two week check out , is that long enough to complete an emerging book reader or do they take longer than that to finish? I have looked up all of the books and they carry all of the readers listed but two. Thank you for your help.

[countrymom]

The storytime books are to be read in 20 school days, so if you couldn't renew that would be a problem. We are not very far into the emerging readers. So far two weeks would be enough, but I am not sure about the later books.

[rockhouse]

I am using our library for both the readers and storytime books this next year. Some of the readers that were suggested with DITHOR we didn't have, so I substituted for them. Some of the books we needed I already owned. But most of mine I am getting from the library. I have library cards to two different libraries. One in our hometown and one for the BIG library system about 30 minutes away. I look for all the books I can in our local system, if they don't have it then I move to the other one. If that doesn't work out, then I assess the book: Would this be something dd would LOVE to read/listen to or could I pick something else? (Part of post removed by moderator per board rules).

As for how long you have the book, ask your library if they have a special library card for teachers. Our local system has a teacher library card which allows you to check out books for 6 weeks instead of the regular 2. The BIG system doesn't have a teacher lbrary card, but they let you check books out for 3 weeks and since they are such a large system they usually have multiple copies of the book I need so renewing them has never been a proble. HTH.

[arstephia]

Our library's 2 week loan period was not enough for us to get through our books (like in DITHOR some take 15 days)and if the book was requested by someone else I couldn't renew, and they often did not have the books so if I interlibrary loaned them it cost $2.25 a book. I just pick a few up used when I can, borrow some from friends, and buy new the ones that are just too good not to own, etc. I can't count on my library for school usage. If you have a great library system with a larger network to borrow from and a longer loan period, you could do it.

[netpea]

We used another curriculum this year which has an extensive library list for each unit. The problem I ran into was in finding the books already checked out when I wanted to get them or having to order them from the statewide ILL which sometimes took so long that we were way past that unit when they arrived even though I ordered the books ahead. I think you would do fine with the emerging reader set, we were able to get the ones we didn't own from the library but the storytime titles might be harder to get. HOD usually has 3 or 4 choices for each storytime genre though so even if you didn't get your first choice you would most likely get one of them.

[my3sons]

We had a difficult time using our library for a variety of reasons. You can read about different experiences moms have had with the library here...
Library Use:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4364&p=32138#p32138

Many of us have decided in lieu of working through library hassles, it is just easier to begin our own personal libraries, as the books HOD recommends are "keepers" we like our dc to read and enjoy again and again...
Starting your own personal library and organizing it at home:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4719&p=34616

I do think it is possible to use the library successfully, and that is an option HOD makes sure to offer for families that really cannot afford to buy the books. However, if you are going to buy a book from someone, it makes good sense to buy it from HOD rather than from somewhere else, as when you need customer service, it is HOD who you will call.

In Christ,
Julie

[gotpeace91]

I tried that last year. It was a huge hassle. You have to really stay on top of things to try to get the book from the library before the day you will need it. Also, you are not guaranteed that the book you want will be there when you need it. It was a major juggling act for me. There is the time limit factor as well. However, I love my library and use it all the time for other stuff! I bought all my books from HOD this year as I found it much harder than I thought it would be to use the library for HOD. HOD's prices were very competitive this year, I thought. I agree with Julie's thoughts on buying from HOD, and try to do so when I can. Carrie and Julie have gone above and beyond in advice and scheduling help with my children.