You can suggest books for your library’s shelves.
Because I spent a few minutes online recently, members of our huge city library will be able to read books that might not otherwise have been ordered. Everyone who reads these books will benefit from the wisdom and Christian worldview of the authors, and so I’ve blessed our community in a tiny but tangible way.
What’s more, our homeschool will benefit from them, too.
Here are some books I recently ordered:
- Boys and girls aged 8 and up will be able to enjoy the first book, Life with Lily, in the delightful Lily Lapp series.
- Busy moms can learn from Crystal Paine how and why to Say Goodbye to Survival Mode.
- All Christians will be able to tour the Holy Land with Lynne Austin, learning what it meant to her to accept God’s will for her Pilgrimage here on earth.
- C.S. Lewis readers and students, including my teens, will be able to enjoy Colin Duriez’s A-Z of C. S. Lewis.
Asking our library to purchase these books took me just a few minutes, and you can suggest books too. Almost all libraries allow patrons to suggest books for purchase.
In our library, making a suggestion to purchase a book is very simple, and it is probably easy in yours as well. Some factors will be the same everywhere. First you must be certain that the library does not already own the book. Then you must find all the relevant information for the book you want, like publisher, publication date, and ISBN number. I often get this information from the book’s listing on Amazon. Finally, of course, you want to be sure you are suggesting a worthwhile book. As a reviewer, I often review the book before suggesting it, but you can also rely on other people’s reviews.
Most libraries buy only newer books. In fact, ours rarely considers purchasing books older than two years. So the question for anyone wishing to suggest quality books to purchase is: Where can one find worthwhile new books to suggest?
You could begin with your favorite homeschool catalogues. You could also sign up for your favorite publishers’ newsletters, read online reviews, follow favorite authors, follow Christians on GoodReads, or browse Christian bookstores, either in person or online. Soon you’ll have an enormous list of worthwhile purchases to suggest to your library.
Long ago, requesting library purchases used to be part of my life. For the next year I’ve recommitted to this simple but effective outreach. I pray that it may be a blessing to my community as well as my family.
Will you join me in helping to fill our libraries with quality resources?
An excellent idea! Now that I am at a smaller library system, I need to ask how this is done. Our “new” library is part of a network of smaller libraries. I imagine I’d have to see if the book I want our library to have is in the network.
I request books a lot throughout the year. Some I get, some I don’t, but our library is very friendly when we order books.