Libraries and Home Schooling by Alexandria Orlando

As more and more parents make the choice to homeschool their children, libraries are becoming more important than ever to this group. However, they are not always given the same consideration that other groups have (babies, toddlers, preschoolers, etc.) simply because librarians often do not know where to start. In the article “A Home Away from Home,” writer Lora Shinn focuses on how public libraries can connect to this growing community, who see the library as a vital resource in educating their children.  And although I myself was not homeschooled, I do believe that it is important for libraries to connect to the homeschooling community in a way that supports and nurtures them, especially as this is no longer a minority group. One of the ways Shinn suggested to do this was to “create a homeschool information hot spot in your library or on its Web site” (Shinn 40). There are a number of different ways to do this, my favorite being an in-library resource center where items such as testing info, textbooks and state-law guidelines are readily available for parents and their children to find.  One librarian mentioned in this article even went so far as to obtain samples of textbooks that the library could not afford to purchase, just to give parents an idea of what the textbook contains (and whether or not it meets their needs) before they decide to purchase it. This in-library resource  is a simple, yet fantastic idea that could not only draw more patrons in, but let them know that we support them and help us as librarians to connect with the surrounding community.  As librarians or future librarians ourselves I believe it is crucial to the success and growth of our field and institution to keep up with and support groups such as this in any way that we can, as all patrons young or old, deserve to receive a quality education and have the information they need readily available.

Works Cited

Shinn, Lora. "A Home Away From Home." School Library Journal 54.8 (2008): 38-42..

            Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts. Web. 11 Apr. 2016