by Lorinda K. F. Newton

Have you ever shopped at a curriculum fair or browsed a used bookstore and had a book catch your eye that you thought would be a great asset to your homeschool resource collection to only discover once home that you already own a copy?

Homeschooling for 18 years, I’ve bought my share of duplicate resources. In addition, my husband and I are bibliophiles and had amassed an extensive book collection before homeschooling. Now, we own a few thousand titles, including CDs and videos. Owning this many books, it’s easy to accidentally buy a title we already own.

To prevent obtaining extra copies, I have organized my home library and cataloged many items in a digital database. So, the next time I see a Dickens novel at Value Village that I would like to add to my library, I first check my library phone app.

Library Location

I’ve been blessed with a library room in the two houses we’ve lived in as a homeschool family. However, not everyone is as fortunate. Yet, through creativity, you can set up your own homeschool library.

• Convert your formal dining room into a schoolroom and add shelves.
• Line a wall in the living room, family room, or guest room with bookcases. I store overflow items on a shelf in my laundry room.
• Turn a closet into a mini library. My parents turned the shallow hall linen closet into a bookshelf. One homeschool family converted a walk-in closet into their homeschool library.

If you lack space, consider storing materials in the attic or garage. Box your resources by category. Next, on a piece of paper, list each item in the box and tape this list on the outside. Record a copy of your box lists in a notebook or a digital file. Later, you can easily find an item when you need it.

Remember that valuable or antique books must be stored in a climate-controlled area. Attics and garages experience temperature extremes that can harm such books.

Physical Organization

Once you select a storage location, choose an organizational method.

• By subject. For instance, you may store art supplies with art books and science equipment with science books.
• By type. Typically, science equipment and craft items have their own storage area. Books, CDs, and DVDs may each be stored in separate locations.
• By age. As the children get older, on older child’s curriculum can be passed down to a younger one.

Cataloging Resources

When arranging your books, consider using the Dewey Decimal System or the Library of Congress Catalog (LCC) system at a simplified level.

My husband worked for the Seattle Pacific University library as a student and prefers the LCC system. So, we have shelved our books by the alphabet part of this extensive cataloging system. For instance, all books on theology and apologetics fall under BT. We don’t use the extended BT75.G78 number for systematic theology.

Once I read about a homeschooling family who shelved their history books chronologically, not by author. I followed that advice and even included biographies and historical novels. This year, I decided to move the biographies and novels to their own shelves. I left the history books in their chronological arrangement.

I’ve also set up separate picture book and juvenile sections. I did this so young visitors could more easily browse my library in person.

Having run out of shelf space, I display my picture books in boxes on the library floor. This way, the thin books are more accessible to view than if they were on a shelf.

Digital Organization

With my books organized by subject and age, I can more easily find a title. Yet, I still bought extra copies on occasion. So around 2009, I began to use an online catalog system called LibraryThing.

LibraryThing

This cluttered, old-fashioned-looking website offers a mind-boggling array of features and cataloging options. But don’t let it intimidate you. Just as no one uses all the features in MSWord, you will never use all the features in LibraryThing. Not even a person with a master’s degree in library science would.

In 2005, founder Tim Spalding originally built the website to organize his own library and shared it with a few book-loving friends. Then it exploded in popularity. Many organizations now use this free service.

The LibraryThing phone app (Google or Apple) offers less entry options than the website. I primarily use it to scan barcodes. The app allows you to browse your collection, but to customize your entries, you’ll find it’s easier to use the website on a desktop computer.

Because we like to share books, we appreciate LibraryThing’s lending feature where we can keep track of who has what book. We are less likely to lose books now.

Adding Books to LibraryThing

After setting up an account, you can add library materials to your digital catalog. You can either scan  barcodes with the app (Google or Apple) or use the website with a desktop computer. Occasionally, the scanner on my phone makes an error and brings up the wrong book. So, watch for that. A damaged or dirty barcode can be misread.

To enter your media (books, e-books, CDs, or videos) without barcodes, you can search LibraryThing by title, author, or ISBN. Select your book from the search list to add it to your library. Some books, particularly classics, have multiple editions. Find the edition that matches yours.

If you use Goodreads, you can import that book list and  your reading history into LibraryThing.

When adding a book, you can click the “edit” button and make changes or additions to your entry. You can even change the book cover if it doesn’t match the one on your book.

Using Collections and Tags

LibraryThing allows you to group your books into “collections” that can be user-defined. Most of my collections are subject names. For my kids’ personal libraries, I use their first names as collection titles.

This software uses tags so you can provide more information about your resources. Collections and tags improve sorting and searches in your personal library.

TinyCat

1. TinyCat, a clutter-free catalog interface that sits on top of the LibraryThing database. This software resembles a public library catalog, and you can share it with others.

LibraryThing Home Page

On your customizable library home page, you will see statistics on your books, pictures of book covers you’ve recently added, your collection and tag lists, and more.

LibraryThing also functions as a social media platform with Groups and Talk (discussion boards), but I don’t use those components.

On the top menu bar to the right, you will find an icon of a curled-up cat. That is the link to TinyCat. To use this catalog, you need to set up a separate account. Once created, that icon will take you to your personal TinyCat library. See mine at Newton Family Library.

As I said, this website is enormous. On it, you will find all kinds of exciting information about the world of books.

Other Digital Catalogs

While researching for this post, I found another blog that recommended a list of other library apps. Also, see this post that reviews these and other app options.

• Bookshelf: A phone app only.
• My Library: A phone app only.
• Libib: Desktop and phone app that also catalogs music and video games.
• Handy Library: A phone app for personal and small libraries (Android only).

This Christmas, you or your children may receive some books as gifts. In the new year, plan on organizing your expanding library with an orderly shelving system and a digital catalog. You may never purchase a duplicate book again.

Lorinda K. F. Newton homeschooled her children from 2004 to 2022, and her family joined Academy Northwest in 2014. Her family lives on beautiful Whidbey Island north of Seattle, Washington. She writes about faith, culture, and governing from a biblical worldview at Lorinda’s Ponderings and on Substack, where she also publishes the “Newton Library Update” about her home library. ©2022 by Lorinda K. F. Newton.