Like many homeschool families, our family loves the library! And we are blessed with one of the most amazing libraries in the country…I mean it’s won awards! LOL Seriously though, there is a wonderful children’s section, computers, CDs, DVDs, adult fiction/non-fiction, magazines, study rooms, programs, etc etc.
One of my little quirks is that I have a terrible time getting things back to the library on time. When it was just me, this was no big deal. Add 4 children and homeschooling to the mix, and the fines were getting BIG! My husband was beginning to make some noise about the $ going to overdue fines.
So, I came up with a little…you guessed it…system! I purchased earlier this year at our homeschool convention a wonderful little crate on wheels. Looks like this but is cuter with blue, yellow and red coloring:
It folds up and is easy to use. I decided to use it for our library trips. So my schedule is: Every week we go to the library on Tuesday mornings. We try not to deviate from that or it will mess me up. 
Then, every item checked out goes in the cart and comes home. If you are not reading/using an item, it goes back in the cart. On Monday morning, the children tell me if they want to renew any items. I renew them online (yep, cool library!). The other items are taken back in on Tuesday morning.
So, far …. no library fines, happy husband, book-loving mama and children! Works for Me!
*for more Works for Me, see www.rocksinmydryer.typepad.com
Good idea! We used to live in FL and our library did not have late fees. Now that was nice!
I’ve almost bought one of those little carts more than once just for this purpose. I think when they go on sale with the teacher-prep school supplies, I’ll get one this time. My book bag is usually too heavy when we come home from the library.
We are just starting the library habit this summer. I have a box like that to haul all of my pre-school stuff during the school year. I was getting ready to clean it out and put it away for the summer, but I think I’ll leave it out!
Another life saver for me was signing up for e-mail reminders through our Library. Would highly recommend seeing if your library does that service. It also gives me the opportunity to renew right then (link to their site), in case I am not ready to turn it in yet or can’t make it to the library on time.
I still use a bag so I’m limited as to how much I can check out at one time. As my boys get older and we need more books for school I may look into a cart! We also love online renewals. They’re a lifesaver. Nice blog by the way! I’m a homeschool mom of boys also.