We can't go to the library anymore: Update post 32 - Page 2

[AAK]

Originally Posted by RiverTam

I'm 40 and I don't like to use the library because I have to give the books back.

It really sucks when you find a new book that you really love and then you have to give it back.

Rather than pay really high overdue fees, what if you used that money to buy copies of the books that are really special? You can use the library to try out books, and then buy the ones that you love.

This is how I budget my books! First I borrow it. If I find the need to renew it more than once, I seriously consider buying it. It works out well.

Our library has a "continuous booksale" in the corner. Maybe your library sells discards too.

Amy

[Oubliette8]

Originally Posted by eepster

It was just a whole lot of books. For ages very time we returned one or books he wanted to take out 4 or 5. More recently it got to the point where he took out so many that was loosing track of them. He also taken out a really long book for himself to read, and it took us ages to finish it. So, some of the books we returned we hadn't even gotten to looking at yet.

My father took us to the library several times a week when I was a little kid. We always had a limit- there were 4 kids, so you can imagine the difficulty of keeping track of all of them if we checked out whatever we wanted! He would tell us beforehand- you may check out X number of books. Then he would set us loose to go find our books. It helped to have a lot of time, so we could read some books while still at the library and really poke around. And still there was begging when it was time to go- just one more book? I can't decide! I want to read all of them!
however, part of the way the limit helped was by having us excited to go back and check out the books we couldn't get the last time!

Since he's not reading all the books he checks out at once, having him get fewer books might make bringing them back easier- since he can look forward to checking out the books he didn't get the last time. Really, whats the use of checking out more books than you have time to read?

[HeatherB]

Moving over to Childhood Years.

[sapphire_chan]

Does he have an allowance and do you have access to a Half Price Books? The kids clearance section has a ton of $0.50 titles.

Too bad you aren't in PDX where they have the Titlewave bookstore that sells all the books that get pulled from the library. But maybe there's a decent used bookstore in your area?

I bet he does grow out of it, but having to spend his OWN money to get all the books he wants and knowing that he'll regularly have a chance to get books to keep 'forever' could help him be okay with getting most of his reading through the library.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by UrbanMamma

My two year old can get like this. About 1 in 5 library books turn into favorites; returning them is torture. Our latest system has been to keep a list of our favorites. I warn him about 48 hours in advance of the return. He helps me return them all. Then, immediately, we go find one of the prized books we returned the last week. It also helps teach him about the catalog, etc. Your mileage may vary.

:

[of2mindsmama]

invent some imaginary friends?

my dd went through this too, and it was hard!
we invented some friends and talked about them. say if your son's name is brennan, you could tell him you're letting dennan and tennan have a turn, and if they pennan hadn't returned the book then your son never would have had a turn himself! my dd loved this game, she loved talking about giving her friends a turn, and wondering what her other friend returned so she could have a turn with it.
good luck!

[Bug-a-Boo's Mama]

Did this start over a certain book? Was there one that he loved and he really didn't want to give it back? If that was the case, I would explain to him that we will save money and buy the book later, look for a used copy, etc. Of course my four year old is used to my telling him we will keep it in mind for later.

[One_Girl]

That is very cute. Have you tried getting some books then turning in most early but letting him keep two or three of his favorites for the next trip. My dd used to not want to turn in books so I did this for her. I would read the books she chose to hold back every day then add in the newer books and she grew tired of the old books and forgot about them and didn't mind that they were turned in. You might also consider checking out only three for him and reading them each night then turning them in and getting three more. I think that you should still go and get books for you to read, you can model a joy of reading and hopefully he will be happier to check out books when he sees you having fun and not getting upset when it is time to turn books in.

[Fuamami]

Originally Posted by of2mindsmama

my dd went through this too, and it was hard!
we invented some friends and talked about them. say if your son's name is brennan, you could tell him you're letting dennan and tennan have a turn, and if they pennan hadn't returned the book then your son never would have had a turn himself! my dd loved this game, she loved talking about giving her friends a turn, and wondering what her other friend returned so she could have a turn with it.
good luck!

That's a really cute idea! My kids never have this problem. Do you have a drop slot? They fight over who gets to stick the books in the slot.

[amma_mama]

I think that perhaps this is an opportunity to teach about sharing - library books are for everybody to share. "They" are sharing with him the x number of books he has now, then it is his turn to share them with somebody else. In return, "they" will share xx more with him.

DD does not like to really look at the books at the library - she pretty much chooses based on the cover (then Mommy checks inside to make sure it is "OK" for her), so it is inevitable that some of them go unread at home as they were not as interesting as she thought. DD also seems to get attached to one book each time, but she is slowly learning the joy of discovering new books or seeking out a different book by the same author. We, of course, only recently started the library rotation (DD is 5yo), as we were overseas where libraries were not an option and bookstores were VERY expensive (but my parents regularly sent new books to keep up the supply). SO now she is old enough to understand the idea of a library and how it is different from a bookstore. She knows she can check out 6 books from the library, but may have to go to the bookstore only for "looking" or to get a "homework" book (which she requests).

If he does not want to do the library for a while, I would not rush out to buy books, even on the cheap, in order to get him motivated again for the joy of sharing at the library. Library = lots of books, bookstore = 1 book very rarely. If he likes books, he will eventually choose the library.

[lucysmom]

Yes, it is a short-lived phase that he will outgrow! My dd was just the same. Now, at 5, she's pretty blase about returning the beloved books. I think it has helped that we checked a few things out several times ... she understands they are not gone for ever & can be retrieved if she wants them, much like the toys I have put in "storage" (garbage bags in the basement). She just needs to know they could come back if she wanted them.

[eepster]

We went back to the library.

We were in the city with grandpa. On the way home GP didn't want to wait for the bus that takes us closer to our house so we took the one that drops us off near the library and figured DH could probably pick us up. Of course DS fell asleep on the bus, and I couldn't get DH on the phone. We start walking to GP's house (about 3/4 of a mile) with me carrying sleeping DS. When we are passing the bench in front of the library DS wakes up and I notice his hat is missing. So I park him and DS on the bench and go back to the bus stop looking for DS's hat. When I get back to them with the hat GP wants to go into the library and take a break.

DS agreed to go into the library . We read 3 books while we were there and took one out.