My church, Crossroads Christian Fellowship, already had a nice library which had been there for many years. Then in January 2003, we rearranged the books and added a homeschool section to that library. This was my own idea actually. I was tripping over boxes of books in our school room at home because I had run out of space in the bookcase, so that's when I first thought of creating a homeschool section in the church library. Before I knew it, everything kind of fell into place to turn it into a homeschool resource center.

The lady who was coordinating the Iowa Test for our local homeschool group was wishing she had a nearby location to do the standardized testing. She needed a building with several different rooms (which we have at our church, in a separate building behind the main sanctuary). A few days later, a friend of mine from another homeschool group mentioned that she was having trouble finding places to hold her workshops. (We’re out in a rural desert area and there aren’t a lot of community centers or places with meeting rooms. We didn’t even have a local public library.) So in addition to a homeschool section in the church library, we came up with the idea of creating a homeschool resource center at our church. The pastor and his wife homeschool their own children and they thought it was a good idea.

I brought about 200 of my own books to the church to start with. My friend and I also contacted different publishers and asked them if they would care to donate some books or other educational materials to our homeschool resource center. Several companies were extremely generous, so I would suggest contacting educational publishers both locally and nationally to see if you can get some donations that way. If the homeschool resource center is run directly by the church, these companies can deduct their donation as a charitable contribution. It’s also free publicity for them. I put the company’s logo and link on the resource center website and list them as sponsors.

Even companies who don’t want to give away any books will send you their catalogs for free. Thus, we also have a shelf of catalogs from various curriculum publishers and distributors. Having the catalogs available helps people who are looking for various items or who want to compare the different curriculums that are available. We also have an assortment of homeschool magazines on display. Everyone looks forward to seeing the latest issue of The Old Schoolhouse!

As word spread through the local homeschool groups that we were creating a homeschool library, many homeschoolers brought in their own books to add to the collection. (In particular, families with children in high school or recently graduated are often happy to donate all of their old school books to help other homeschoolers.) We received not only books, but educational games, magazines, auidiotapes, videos, and software as well.

We currently have over 800 items in the homeschool section of the church library, which means we are actually starting to run out of room! We have also been getting some duplicates, but those items that we don’t need will still be of benefit. By selling them at a book sale, we can raise funds for certain items that we could use and don’t have yet. As a  homeschool resource center, we also qualify as an educational organization for Campbell’s Labels for Education and General Mills Boxtops for Education. So we are collecting and saving those labels and boxtops to use toward additional items such as a microscope, playground equipment, etc.

The church’s library books are on the honor system so they were never cataloged, but I’m cataloging all of the homeschool items using a database called Readerware. The software also keeps track of loans and due dates, although I haven’t been assigning due dates yet. I just tell people to bring the items back as soon as they’re done with them, and they can keep curriculum for a whole year. However, as the library gets more well-used I will probably have to start putting down due dates, at least for the non-curriculum items.

While our homeschool resource center is officially a ministry of the church, we have a very small congregation so we open it up to all homeschoolers in the area. Thus, the need for a registration form and a nominal $5 fee to become a member and be able to check out books from the library. The library is basically open whenever homeschool classes or other activities are going on, which is about once or twice a week. Since the church membership is so small, there aren’t enough volunteers available to keep the library open more often, although I have met people there at other times by special arrangement.

I provide members with a library card, which several people have also used as a homeschool ID card to obtain educator discounts at local bookstores. At the top it says “Home Educator ID/Library Card” in red letters. Below that is our resource center logo and name (you could use your church name and logo). Then there is a line for their name, and underneath is a line for their signature. It says: “By signing this card, I acknowledge that I have read and understand the library policy, and I agree to return all materials on time, in good condition, as per the resource center’s rules.” The resource center/church contact info is at the very bottom of the card.

The library is busiest at the times of year when people are looking for curriculum. The homeschool classes that we offer are popular all year round. Various classes that we have had include: Geography, Creative Writing, Drama, Art, Music, Sign Language, and High Tech Kids. Other activities have included standardized testing, fire safety presentations and first aid course. The local homeschool honor society and a homeschool support group also hold their meetings there. We have a playroom with educational toys for the littlest homeschoolers, and an outdoor fenced-in playground. Some moms drop their kids off and pick them up after class, a few stay and observe the class, and others chat in the playroom while they watch the little kids play. Moms also like to browse through the books in the library while they’re there. The church has been very flexible and accommodating with all of our classes and activities “taking over” their building. Of course, a church member has to be present whenever something is going on, so when it’s a homeschool-related event that’s usually me!

Stay tuned for my review of the Readerware program. In the meantime, feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions or if you would like to see a copy of the registration form/survey that I made up to determine people’s needs and interests.