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Connections
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OK. On the subject of culling children's books (a constant struggle for me- I want to detach from them but I love them so). I have three main questions and would love to hear any thoughts and experiences in your own homes.
(1) If you have culled children's books, have you regretted later not owning them? So far, I have given 3-4 boxes away and have not regretted it but now I am talking about some more serious culling.
(2) If you had a wonderful library within walking distance, would you be comfortable just owning family favorite picture books, favorite non-fiction books, a considerable collection of chapter books and reference materials? In other words, instead of several non-fiction books on the same topic, just keeping one or two. Instead of shelves of picture books only owning the ones you are willing to read over and over again?
(3) If you could store books in the basement (but are really trying to decrease the boxes down there and are not excited about adding more), would you box and hold onto the books that don't meet certain criteria? How long would you hold into them?
Help me detach!
Thanks!
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SuzanneG
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Connections wrote:
| (2) If you had a wonderful library within walking distance, would you be comfortable just owning family favorite picture books, favorite non-fiction books, a considerable collection of chapter books and reference materials? In other words, instead of several non-fiction books on the same topic, just keeping one or two. Instead of shelves of picture books only owning the ones you are willing to read over and over again? |
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I wrote this on a thread awhile back when Stephanie was asking about making purchases at a library sale: Library Book Sale
SuzanneG wrote:
Because SPACE and keeping things organized (with the ages of my kids, I'm the only one who can do this now) is such a huge issue for us, here is my purchasing criteria:
I only purchase (even if inexpensively)..........
::books my two library systems do not own
::books I / we will want to write in
::holiday books.....(because there is a limit on them, and even with 7 library cards, I'm nowhere CLOSE to having all the books I want at Christmas time).
::books that we would damage....ie: field books, etc.
::books that I'll want to pass on to my dc (ie: Catholic Mosaic books, neuman press books, their favorites, etc.)
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MaryM added later in that thread....reference books that I want to have on-hand like:
:: Craft Books
:: Animal Encyclopedia
:: History Encylopedia
:: Math / Science experiement books
But, I don't need TONS of these....just a couple to have always. If we want more, we just request them from the library.
So, this is my purchasing criteria, but also my "culling criteria." And, it's my own personal preference....I'd rather spend time requesting and picking-up/returning library books, than dealing with making space and clean-up. Others would rather have everything at their fingertips and are willing to invest the time to keep it manageable.
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Suzanne in ID
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Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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Erin
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| Posted: Nov 02 2010 at 6:32pm | IP Logged
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Connections wrote:
(1) If you have culled children's books, have you regretted later not owning them? So far, I have given 3-4 boxes away and have not regretted it but now I am talking about some more serious culling. |
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Tracey, I am probably the last person who should be helping you detach. 
Occasionally I have regretted throwing away a single book or two. But I have my own criteria for throwing; boring, I always avoid reading it, twaddle etc it goes. So I don't throw indiscriminately in the first place.
Connections wrote:
| (2) If you had a wonderful library within walking distance, would you be comfortable just owning family favorite picture books, favorite non-fiction books, a considerable collection of chapter books and reference materials? In other words, instead of several non-fiction books on the same topic, just keeping one or two. Instead of shelves of picture books only owning the ones you are willing to read over and over again? |
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Well I don't have this situation, in NSW (Australia)libraries are throwing out books more than 10 years old  So as I don't trust our fav books will be there I can't take the chance.
I'd keep quality picture books. Which could still mean shelves.
Connections wrote:
| (3) If you could store books in the basement (but are really trying to decrease the boxes down there and are not excited about adding more), would you box and hold onto the books that don't meet certain criteria? How long would you hold into them? |
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Well I have 6 boxes so far stored in my shipping container for my grandchildren (my oldest child is 17  ) I keep quality books only and some the children insist on like Trixie Belden sets. These could be there for years.
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Erin
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Connections
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| Posted: Nov 02 2010 at 7:20pm | IP Logged
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Thanks for the responses.
How about rotating books? I do this with toys already. Does anyone successfully rotate books? Where do you store them? How? Etc.
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JodieLyn
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I don't know if I'm successful but I do have to pack away the books I use for history so that we only have out one time period at a time.. lack of space.. tey're in cardboard boxes in my garage.. middle of my garage  no space out there either
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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Willa
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Connections wrote:
(2) If you had a wonderful library within walking distance, would you be comfortable just owning family favorite picture books, favorite non-fiction books, a considerable collection of chapter books and reference materials? In other words, instead of several non-fiction books on the same topic, just keeping one or two. Instead of shelves of picture books only owning the ones you are willing to read over and over again?
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That's what I've been doing. It got to the point where I didn't even know what we had, and my kids were overwhelmed, so there were lots of books that just didn't get used.
There is such an explosion of non-fiction books out in the publishing world -- I no longer keep multiple books on one topic unless there is an absolute treasure that has earned its place on our shelves. Besides, often we go on the internet to find out more about a given non-fiction topic. The modern non-fiction "subject" books often aren't particularly well written and the old-fashioned literary ones are often either (1) outdated (2) not particularly attractive to my kids (3) easily found on Google library if I ever want to access them. (obviously there are key exceptions like the D'Aulaire books, saints' lives, etc, and I do keep well-written non-fiction books around for my older kids).
I keep picture books and chapter books because the kids actually read these over and over again.
I don't usually keep books that are recently published and/or widely available.
The hardest part for me is getting rid of books that aren't used now but were loved (and then outgrown) by an older child.
I haven't YET missed any books we gave away. In fact it's a relief usually to have less around.
It helps my decluttering to think about it in terms of chipping away at everything that isn't David -- you know, that story about Michelangelo and how he did his sculptures? What we have left on our shelf is more part of us, and easier to find. But it's still ongoing, and our David still has a few extra pounds 
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Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Nov 03 2010 at 10:33am | IP Logged
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Hmmm...our library doesn't offer the type of books we look for on a regular basis (historical fiction, realistic historical, nothing Catholic, etc. - living books) so I probably purchase more than others here who have great library systems. The use of the library, ability to get books via ILL, closeness/proximity of library to my home, etc, would factor heavily into my decision.
Connections wrote:
| (1) If you have culled children's books, have you regretted later not owning them? |
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Nope, but I only cull twaddle. Classics stay.
Connections wrote:
| (2) If you had a wonderful library within walking distance, would you be comfortable just owning family favorite picture books, favorite non-fiction books, a considerable collection of chapter books and reference materials? |
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Probably so. I'd probably still feel comfortable with a home library of tried and true historical fiction of classics/great books that encompasses the centuries. That doesn't mean an explosive collection.
Connections wrote:
| (3) If you could store books in the basement (but are really trying to decrease the boxes down there and are not excited about adding more), would you box and hold onto the books that don't meet certain criteria? How long would you hold into them? |
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Probably not, but I'm not sure what criteria you're looking to meet. For me, if it's a book I'm not sure about - twaddle, not a favorite in our home, a book I think looks neat but I know in my heart we're never going to use because it doesn't fit our learning style/my teaching style - I'd part with it. If it's simply a case like Jodie mentioned and I didn't have room in my home/learning spaces to contain all 20 centuries of history reading along with Ancient History, then I'd do just as Jodie and box WITH CLEAR LABELS (in rubbermaid/plastic bins with tight fitting lids) and store.
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I/we do enjoy books and find them a wonderful resource and treasure. Books in our home are a material blessing to steward. Since we have a large home library, part of stewarding this material resource means managing it so that it is useful and can be used! Our priority in our home library consists of these collections:
** Liturgical year picture books and chapter books appropriate to every age from little - high school/adult.
** Our entire curriculum turns about the pivot of history - all of our reading stems from the period of history we are studying. Therefore, this genre of books is our priority and our biggest collection. Historical fiction as well as biographies/auto-biographies/realistic historical/journals/essays/literature from periods of history form the backbone of our home library and I manage/steward this collection carefully. Classics and good literature are admitted.
** Reference books & non-fiction books provide useful information and is another collection we maintain, but I have come to find, over the years, books of preference that are used consistently for various topics and this collection tends to remain static now needing neither culling nor additions. I add very infrequently to this collection, and usually only when I find a treasure.
** Instructional books hold another important place on our shelves. We maintain tried and true books of instruction for various genre & topics. This is probably the area I've culled the most over the years, doing so as I've found particular books that fit us best as a family, both meeting our needs and our fitting our style as well as being tried and true sources of inspiration. Interestingly, the books I was most attracted to as a new homeschooler became the least used in this area.
** Picture books maintain pride of place for my early learners and I maintain (what I would consider) a modest collection of greats. Classics only. This is the collection I have a particular weakness for!! I've learned my preferences and the style of book I prefer which includes beautiful content and beautiful illustrations. I've become restrictive based on those criteria. I do not cull much at all from this collection, though I probably have culled a few things over the years that I felt did not meet our family criteria based on content, beauty (somewhat subjective), and our storage/display space/limitations.
**********************************************************
In culling books from shelves, these are the questions I ask myself (again...these are questions I use based on our library limitations and our learning style...they're just here to prompt further brainstorming):
? Is this twaddle?
? Does this book light up the imagination with possibilities?
? Is this a classic?
? If this is a reference book, is it redundant with another more preferred book on my shelf?
? If I get rid of this book and decide to replace it one day, will it be difficult?
? Is this book out of print - consider very carefully removing OOP books from my shelf. In fact, if it is a historically or liturgically related book I NEVER do it!
? Does the removal of this book from my shelves create a significant hole in the liberal/generous selection of books available in my home library?
? Is this instructional book redundant? Does it contain a unique offering? Does it fit with my educational philosophy?
? Do I prefer/not care for the illustrations in this book? (this is a big consideration for me...might not be for others)
? Have I cracked this book open in the last 2 years? Is there a reason for that? Discern & scrutinize seriously if this book is being hoarded because it "looks nice" or "has potential"...or if it really doesn't fit our family and could bless another family better.
? What are my space/storage limitations?
? Can I accommodate a large collection of stored books - whether on shelves or in bins?
? Will I be able to manage a medium or large collection of books so that they can be used and enjoyed...or will this book get lost in a corner of my home?
Honestly and sincerely assessing the learning styles in my home as well as the educational philosophy we embrace is a huge tool in this effort! I would be cautious about culling too much before I felt a sincere commitment to our family educational philosophy. An example would be that I have NO PROBLEM culling texts or workbooks from my shelf because we don't use those in our home. Another family would find those to be a very good and useful resource in their home and would not part with them.
Hope something here helps, Tracey! Good luck with this effort!!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Nov 03 2010 at 10:40am | IP Logged
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Cross-posting with Willa!  And, I so enjoy how she worded this:
Willa wrote:
| It helps my decluttering to think about it in terms of chipping away at everything that isn't David -- you know, that story about Michelangelo and how he did his sculptures? What we have left on our shelf is more part of us, and easier to find. But it's still ongoing, and our David still has a few extra pounds |
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This is what I was trying to say, but less eloquently!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Trinity
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Excellent post Jen! Your guidelines are a help to me right now too. We are getting to the point again where we need to cull some books or make room for more bookshelves. I've been leaning towards more bookshelves to be honest.
Connections wrote:
Thanks for the responses.
How about rotating books? I do this with toys already. Does anyone successfully rotate books? Where do you store them? How? Etc.
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I think rotating books is a good idea, especially for seasonal books. I'm fortunate that my father lives just a few streets away from us and we do store things in his home. Mostly seasonal items from clothing to holiday decorations. We also keep toys there for the little ones when we go over to visit. It also helps us rotate what toys we have in our own home.
I have kept books stored in attics and basements before. As long as they are in a place where they are safe from dampness they usually do just fine.
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Trinity
DS(05/01/03)& DD(03/02/08)
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Erin
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Connections wrote:
| How about rotating books? I do this with toys already. Does anyone successfully rotate books? Where do you store them? How? Etc. |
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I rotate some books. Every so often I change some of the books on the boys shelves in their room (in the hope they will read them)
Christmas and Easter books are boxed out of season and stored in the shipping container.
Mostly I rotate picture books, our picture books are in big bins (my friend's old pot drawers). They are grouped according to subjects, so every so often I rotate, two bins are on top of a coffee table, one underneath. Underneath is difficult to look at so I rotate about.
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Erin
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Nov 03 2010 at 9:56pm | IP Logged
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Connections wrote:
| How about rotating books? I do this with toys already. Does anyone successfully rotate books? Where do you store them? How? Etc. |
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I keep in-use books out on tables in baskets. When they're not in-use, they are kept on shelves which are labeled according to period of history, or branch of science, or liturgical season/month of the year, or some other genre identification so that books can be found in a way that is easiest and most intuitive for our family...and the way we reach for books.
I rotate some books based on what the children are studying/reading at the time. I "strew" some books as well...also based on pertinent events of the day, historical anniversaries, etc. For my littles, I rotate picture books seasonally, setting out special books in their baskets.
I have A LOT of Advent books and don't keep those on our normal Liturgical books shelves. These are kept together on a high shelf upstairs. Easy readers/new reader books are kept out of the way upstairs as well since these are only used for a short period of time.
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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onthelane
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I'm always late to the party One of my concerns in culling books is that I will give away books that another child later would enjoy. But even bigger than that is an increasing desire on my part to have our own home library so as to spend less time at our (formerly?/potentially?) wonderful local library. Sad but true, because their criteria for books on the shelf has grown to include books that I have absolutely no desire for my children to see. Garbage. In fact it is easier now for us to go to the bookstore b/c the Dewey Decimal system used by the library has inappropriate books on low shelves. When I brought this up to the (pc) children's librarians, they said that for as many of us who were opposed to certain books (topics), there were "at least as many" who think that these books should be available to children. It's a losing battle and we now go to pick up requested books (can only request those that are ILL) or I go alone. And building a generous home library makes it a lot easier on me. This from a girl who practically lived at her neighborhood library growing up.
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Erin
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onthelane wrote:
| One of my concerns in culling books is that I will give away books that another child later would enjoy. |
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I see this as a very real factor. Certain books all of my children like, but with five children now reading on their own I see also some very different reading tastes.
And I'm so with you about the library shelves, people are simply reading garbage!!!
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Erin
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Connections
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| Posted: Dec 06 2010 at 3:09pm | IP Logged
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An update-
I am in the process of boxing up LOTS of books to store in the basement. I also have a sell and a give away pile that is growing (and this is after giving several away a few months ago).
I am touching every book we own and deciding what to do with it. To prepare myself, I reread the chapter on Environment in Simplicity Parenting.
After a year, we'll rethink whether we should keep the books in the basement or give away more.
I remember finding a few great books at a used bookstore several years ago on my birthday. I felt (and even express to my DH) that I was pleased but wish I would have found more. Yikes! That sounds like an unhealthy thing now that I think about it!
I have purchased a lot of books at our library's book sales. Seems I have a hard time passing up a bargain on a good book.
In looking at our collection I realize that I (too often) buy books on the recommendations of others even when we don't really have a need for that type of book or I don't have a plan to "use" it.
We still have lots of books out, but the shelves are not weighted down. I love the way books look on a shelf- especially when they are neat and orderly.
It is a HUGE process but is already making me very happy. I was completely caught up in the "if one book on the subject is good, 12 more are even better" mentality.
I keep thinking that, even if no one ever takes the books out of the basement again and only reads the books I have available upstairs, they would be very well educated (up to the grade level that we have books for). That is a very good thing.
I have been wanting to do this for so long.
Thanks for everyone's thoughts on the issues- it helped me develop a game plan!
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cathhomeschool
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I think that you're following a great approach, Tracey. When I started culling books I started slowly. My current "keep" criteria is very similar to Suzanne's above (only I don't own a bunch of holiday books), but before I thought more was better too. After the culling process I started a "wish list" in a spiral for books that I'd heard recommended or that I knew I wanted. At birthdays or book sales came, I looked over my list. I forced myself to be pickier about purchases. Now I've gone a bit further and try to borrow through inter-library before or instead of buying. I don't even *go* to book sales anymore. I know myself too well!
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Owning/Culling books
