Library or Buy?

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StephanieU
Posts: 1652
Joined: Tue May 21, 2013 7:10 pm

Library or Buy?

Post by StephanieU » Mon Jul 08, 2013 8:40 pm

Do you tend to buy the books for DITHOR, ER, and storytime or do you tend to borrow them from the library? Advantages/disadvantages?

Our library is less than a mile away, so we can even walk there. It is part of a big system, and they will transfer the books from one location to another for us. So, I am thinking of using the library as much as possible... They have almost all of the ER books we will need this year (minus the Bible which we have and one other book), and I am starting to look at Beyond and DITHOR books for next year.
Mom to
DD15 US1 (completed LHFHG-WH)
DS13 MtMM (completed LHFHG-Rev2Rev plus some of LHTH)
DD12 Rev2Rev (completed LHTH-RtR)
DS7 Beyond (completed LHTH-LHFHG)

StillJulie
Posts: 394
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2009 5:04 pm

Re: Library or Buy?

Post by StillJulie » Mon Jul 08, 2013 8:54 pm

I am buying everything that we can afford. I have six children to teach, so I feel we easily get our money's worth.

We do have a great interlibrary loan system, but it's still never a guarantee that you'll be able to get the book when you need it and for as long as you need it.
16yo DD using US History 1 for 11th grade
14yo DS using World Geography for 9th grade
13yo DS using Rev to Rev for 7th grade
10yo DD using Creation to Christ for 5th grade
8yo DD using Bigger for 3rd grade
7yo DD using Beyond Hearts for 2nd grade

MelInKansas
Posts: 1700
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2010 7:32 pm

Re: Library or Buy?

Post by MelInKansas » Mon Jul 08, 2013 9:19 pm

I did do the library for our storytime titles. There are so many options and so many of them are actually AT the library. Interlibrary loan is great, but generally you are limited to one checkout cycle, or you can only assume that you will get one checkout cycle (3 weeks). Storytime takes 4 weeks (and that's if you're schooling 5 days/week, we don't). As you move up in the guides so many of the books are published by smaller Christian publishers and not really available at the library. Plus you need to have them WHEN you need them, and again, usually for more than 3 weeks.

I think I may use some different storytime options for Beyond the next time through, and that was what I used a lot of library books for last time. I could see using them for the ER's and storytime titles pretty easily (though ER's have page numbers listed so if you get a different edition/printing from the library it may not coincide, but a lot of the ER readings are one chapter per day, you may have a little bit of trouble figuring it out....).

I checked out a few for DITHOR too. I may continue to or not, but the recommendations on here are so excellent and again, many are not available at most libraries. I do mean to check out my church's library, there are a lot of books there and some of them I have seen are actually in the HOD plans.
Melissa
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
His mercies never come to an end"

DD12 - Rev to Rev + DITHOR 6/7/8
DD10 - CTC + DITHOR 2/3
DD7 - Bigger + ERs
DS5 - LHFHG
DD2 - ABC123
2 babies in heaven

StephanieU
Posts: 1652
Joined: Tue May 21, 2013 7:10 pm

Re: Library or Buy?

Post by StephanieU » Mon Jul 08, 2013 9:32 pm

Our"loan program is within the city. We can recheck them too just like books at the closest branch. And many of the books for ER are available at a bunch of branches, so they should he pretty easy to get. But if there are only a few copies then I will consider buying I guess. Thanks.
Mom to
DD15 US1 (completed LHFHG-WH)
DS13 MtMM (completed LHFHG-Rev2Rev plus some of LHTH)
DD12 Rev2Rev (completed LHTH-RtR)
DS7 Beyond (completed LHTH-LHFHG)

twoxcell
Posts: 358
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 11:49 pm

Re: Library or Buy?

Post by twoxcell » Mon Jul 08, 2013 10:27 pm

I buy all of our books. ;)
ds 12 RevtoRev
dd 9 Preparing
dd 7 Beyond
ds 5 Little Hearts
dd due September 20th

lissiejo
Posts: 506
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2012 11:44 am

Re: Library or Buy?

Post by lissiejo » Mon Jul 08, 2013 11:36 pm

I use the library for as much as I am able to save money. The only disadvantage is making sure you have the books you need exactly when you need them. So far this hasn't been a problem for us. We are in a large library system as well and there are typically several copies of what I need. I also requested they purchase several of the HOD titles and most of them were approved! That was really neat to see. By using the library I've been able to save about 25% of the total cost and for us that is significant.
Melissa (Pastor's wife in NC)

http://gracefilledhomeschooling.blogspot.com
Rose (12-years-old) - Revival to Revolution
Beth (10-years-old) - Creation to Christ
Grace (8-years-old) - Bigger Hearts for His Glory

mothermayi
Posts: 96
Joined: Wed Jun 12, 2013 7:31 pm

Re: Library or Buy?

Post by mothermayi » Tue Jul 09, 2013 12:59 am

I have starting buying our books. Our library system is very large but they only have 1 or 2 copies of the good books so I spent a lot of time on the wait list. I rarely had the book I needed when I needed it. When I did, I couldn't keep it as long as I needed it because someone else (x10) was on the wait list. Our ILL cost $5 per item so I figured I might as well just buy the book for $7.99 or what have you. However, if I had a good library system with a nice supply of good titles, I would use it.

The advantage is you get to save money and you learn patience :wink: .

Married to dh 13 years
ds12--Began CTC 10/28/13!!, DITHOR 6/7/8
ds10--Began CTC 10/28/13!!, DITHOR 4/5
dd5y11mo--MFW K, ETC 3, MMM/SM, A Beka Cursive--Looking forward to beginning HOD!
dd3.5--HOD LHTH 1/2 speed

Motherjoy
Posts: 376
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2008 7:52 pm

Re: Library or Buy?

Post by Motherjoy » Tue Jul 09, 2013 8:14 am

I buy everything. I am not organized enough to deal with library books, as I always have late fees. Plus I'm buying once and then reusing the guides and books for all of my children.
MJ, mom to 8
2015-2016 plan
*17yo is dual-enrolled after using HOD for 7 years
*11yo, 10yo, 9yo, and 7yo - CTC with modifications
*5yo, 4yo - LHTH
*3yo - playschool

Accomplished: LHTH, LHFHG, BHFHG, Beyond, PHFHG, RTR, Rev to Rev, MTMM, WG, WH

raindrops
Posts: 303
Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2012 9:51 am

Re: Library or Buy?

Post by raindrops » Tue Jul 09, 2013 9:23 am

I think you should use the library, in your situation. You are close and they actually have the titles you need.

*My* library is a frustrating thing. LOL. It is half an hour away, they hardly have any of the HOD titles... even the classics award winning ones..! Out of all 3 Beyond storytime sets they had just a handful of the titles... and only 1 of those were out of the set I wanted.

Interlibrary loan would flop for me. Have to order it, wait for it to come in (who knows when or even IF), then give it back before we're done.

Our library is only good for its weekly program and just free reading books
9 yr old boy in Preparing
6 yr old girl loving all things LHFHG

bethelmommy
Posts: 265
Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2011 6:34 pm
Location: Alaska

Re: Library or Buy?

Post by bethelmommy » Tue Jul 09, 2013 11:46 am

I buy all the books, even the extra story time sets which we use as night time read alouds. I like to have everything in one place and know it's available when I need it. We have two more kids to cycle through, so it will be nice to have everything stored together and ready to go.
Grace and peace,
Alicia
DS 14 MTMM, DITHOR 6/7/8
DD 13 Rev2Rev, DITHOR 4/5
DS 10 Bigger, DITHOR 2/3
DD 8 Beyond, Level 2 Book Pack
(Previously completed LHFHG, Beyond, Bigger, Preparing, CTC, RTR, Rev2Rev, and DITHOR 2/3, 4/5)

lucsch
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2011 6:46 pm

Re: Library or Buy?

Post by lucsch » Tue Jul 09, 2013 4:18 pm

I buy them (usually used) so I can resell them without losing much money at all. We have a wonderful library system, and I totally did K4 with the library. That was back in the day when holds were unlimited. Now they limit it to just a few per card, so it is hard. Some books would be very hard to get, so it just isn't worth my time.
Lucinda
Wife to Gary for 31 years
Mom to ds26, ds21, ds19, and dd11
Grandma 4yo, 1yo, newborn
dd11: CTC
Finished BLHFHG, BHFHG, Preparing & DITHOR 3x

StephanieU
Posts: 1652
Joined: Tue May 21, 2013 7:10 pm

Re: Library or Buy?

Post by StephanieU » Tue Jul 09, 2013 7:54 pm

Thanks ladies! I got a little "nerdy" and started an Excel file for all of the readers/storytime books. I listed the number of copies in our city's library system. Of course if they don't' have any, I am stuck buying them. So I color coded those red. Then I color coded ones with fewer than 5 copies in purple, and I will keep those lists with me when I go to used book stores, used curriculum sales, etc. And if I can't find them used, I will just order them. And of course if I find ones that the library has but at an amazing price, I will buy those ones too :)
Mom to
DD15 US1 (completed LHFHG-WH)
DS13 MtMM (completed LHFHG-Rev2Rev plus some of LHTH)
DD12 Rev2Rev (completed LHTH-RtR)
DS7 Beyond (completed LHTH-LHFHG)

MelInKansas
Posts: 1700
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2010 7:32 pm

Re: Library or Buy?

Post by MelInKansas » Tue Jul 09, 2013 8:07 pm

That's a great way to keep organized! You will probably be able to get some great deals on books that way too. You could even (if you want to be extra nerdy) keep the ISBN numbers handy so that way you can at least know if you're getting the same edition/printing (does a different printing have a new ISBN #.... maybe not).
Melissa
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
His mercies never come to an end"

DD12 - Rev to Rev + DITHOR 6/7/8
DD10 - CTC + DITHOR 2/3
DD7 - Bigger + ERs
DS5 - LHFHG
DD2 - ABC123
2 babies in heaven

StephanieU
Posts: 1652
Joined: Tue May 21, 2013 7:10 pm

Re: Library or Buy?

Post by StephanieU » Tue Jul 09, 2013 9:09 pm

I thought about adding in the ISBN for the storytime books. I am guessing page numbers aren't used for DITHOR and ER though - right? I am adding in the HOD price into the spreadsheet, so I might as well add in the ISBN :) If it is just a true reprint, then the ISBN doesn't change. But, if the format or font changes, they have to use a different ISBN. So, I am guessing as long as the ISBN is the same, the page numbers should be the same.
Mom to
DD15 US1 (completed LHFHG-WH)
DS13 MtMM (completed LHFHG-Rev2Rev plus some of LHTH)
DD12 Rev2Rev (completed LHTH-RtR)
DS7 Beyond (completed LHTH-LHFHG)

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