Category: Librarian

Elizabeth Ripley Binders

Elizabeth Ripley’s artist biographies are true living art books. The new editions reprinted by Purple House Press are simply gorgeous. We are particularly thrilled that Purple House Press chose to offer the option of adding 8 prints with the book. The prints are on high quality card stock with just the right amount of sheen.

Building on an idea from Sherry Early of Meriadoc Homeschool Library, I am keeping my books in a 3-ring binder with the prints in sheet protectors. I decided to make spine labels that would draw my patrons over to the shelf.

Tracy Born’s Living Books Rescue Preservation Library

When I arrived in the church basement, there were a couple of elderly church ladies sitting there all alone, and I discovered many boxes of beautiful vintage children’s books…most still in Dewey Decimal order, as they had just been pulled off the shelves of a library. Little did I know, but the church was attached to a school that had just closed its doors, and I was looking at the entire contents of the school library!

Erin Hassett’s Library in Australia

I make my home in Clarence Valley, NSW, Australia with my husband, ten children, aged thirty to ten, and two daughters-in-law, though only five of our children now live at home. We live on a rural property with cattle and chickens, with the children driving 4WD’s and dune buggies and swimming in the dam. Our children have always been home educated, and we have graduated six thus far. 

Ashley Borrego and Cornerstone Living Library

It took about six months from the first time I suggested the idea to the church leadership until they approved it as a new ministry that they would support and finance, with me as the volunteer director.  During that time, I did a considerable amount of research on how to run a library. I had to make a detailed plan, create a realistic budget, and made multiple presentations to various groups within the church.

Plumfield Library Membership Cards

When we started this library journey, I thought that since we lived way out in the woods, no one would want to drive out here very often. I assumed that I was going to need to drive the books into town and do meet-ups with patrons. That still may happen, but so far, every time I propose it to my patrons, I am met with shock. “No! I want my kids to have a real library experience!” After hearing this half a dozen times, I knew that people were coming here for the kind of experience that I had at Spies Public Library. And, I knew that we would need library cards.

What is another way to organize and shelve picture books?

I gave most of my picture books away over the years. I kept the best ones for the future, but as my children aged out of them, I shared the rest with friends to make room for my growing collection of chapter and middle grade books. Because of that, when I set up my library, I decided to organize my picture books really differently than most of the other librarians I was following. And, so far, it’s been working really, really well for us.

Stacie Bean’s Humble Library

Over the years, we learned to visit the used book booths when at homeschool conferences and to stop in libraries when traveling to see if they had a book sale section or room. It seemed we could always find some treasure for each member of the family. Once, a friend and I got a call that a local school was throwing their entire library collection into their school dumpster. What do you think we did?? Minivans here we come!

Why Libraries?

This article was originally written in three parts and published in The Wyoming News Chronicle in the spring of 2023. Andrew Carnegie, born in Scotland in 1835, emigrated with his parents to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was twelve years old. His life is an almost unbelievable rags-to-riches story. He went from working as a bobbin…

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