How to start a lending library for your church or other organization
Public libraries can be a great way to save money for readers. But what if you have specialized reading interests that are different from those of the public? Many organizations such as historical societies and churches offer their members small libraries with materials of interest. Here’s how.
How to Start a Lending Library
You already share interests with your fellow SCUBA divers or philatelists; why not share your books? How to start a lending library
You share similar interests with fellow SCUBA diver or philatelists. Why not share your books as well? Bed and Breakfast owners may also want to offer their guests some reading material during their stay. It’s not as difficult or expensive as you might think to start a library. Start by asking your members to donate books, magazines and other media related to your topic of interest. Some of the items you receive may be outdated or in bad condition. However, there will also likely be generous donations. If you’re able to gather enough materials to create a library, you can decide on how to organize it, let people know about what is available, and manage circulation. You can also consider promoting the library by writing reviews of items available for checkout in the organization’s newsletter.
Organizing the Books
It can be as easy as putting them alphabetically by author or as complicated as using the Library of Congress catalogueing system. I used the Dewey Decimal System for non-fiction and alphabetized fiction books when I created the library at our church. This allowed people to find similar books next to one another. I searched the catalog of the public library for similar or identical books to find the Dewey Decimal numbers. You can group materials by subject on the shelves and alphabetize within the subject.
Cataloging
A library of more than a hundred items or so should have a catalog to let people know what the library owns. You can use sophisticated cataloging software or, if you know someone with computer skills, customize an ordinary database to be the library catalog. You can also go the low-tech way. For our church library we use index cards to create a card catalogue and store the cards in a small box. I would include the publication date, publisher, series and subject headings. You can use the Library of Congress’ list of formal subject titles used by academic and public libraries. However, you can also create your own set of headings to suit your membership. (For example, the formal subject heading for books on the theology of end times uses the word “Eschatology,” but few members of our congregation have formal theological training, so our catalog cards say, “End times.”) I recommend keeping a list of subject headings so that the terminology is consistent throughout the catalog.
People may search for a book by its title, author, subject, or series, so be sure any computerized database is searchable in these areas. If you are using index cards for the catalog, make a separate card for each and alphabetize them all together.
Keeping Track of the Books
To manage the circulation (keep track of what’s checked out), you may either choose to set hours of operation and have volunteers staff the library, or you may design a self-checkout system that allows people to access the library at any time. You won’t be able collect fines if you use the self-checkout system, but it is still important to set guidelines on how long people can keep items. This will ensure that everyone doesn’t have to wait for popular books or DVDs. If you choose a self-checkout system, you might also consider holding orientation sessions (especially when the library is new) to let people know what’s available and how to check it out.
Preparing the Books
You can prepare materials to add to the library at a relatively low cost with items from an office supply store. For our church library I used rubber cement, contact paper, address labels, and index cards. On hardcover books, CDs, videos and DVDs I covered the spine label with contact paper; on paperbacks I covered the entire spine and the vertical cover edges with contact paper (to reduce the wear that comes with multiple readings). I then cut the flap off a small envelope and sealed the bottom to make a card-sized envelope. I then glued this into the back of the book with rubber cement. I placed an index card in the pocket of the envelope with the title written on it. Below the title, there are columns where people can write their name, phone number, and due date. Before using cards that contain personal information, make sure you are familiar with any privacy laws in your library. Library users can take out this card and place it in a second box to indicate that the book was checked out.
Maintaining Your Lending Library
