How I Accidentally Became a Church Librarian
I recently had the most unlikely post go viral on social media. It featured the most checked out books from my church’s children’s library—a library I helped create. Church libraries used to be common, but when I put a poll in my Stories to see how many people had children’s libraries in their church, the vast majority said they didn’t.
I didn’t really either, until recently.
But the popularity of this post tells me something. Many of you wish your church had a children’s library. You want a place with books you can trust, books that may be out of your budget, books your public library may not be willing to stock.
Many of us, however, are waiting for someone else to do the work when we’re the ones who can see it needs doing.
What you see—that vision—should tell you something.
My church had an old library. I could tell it had once been organized and systematized, but no one had been taking care of it for quite a while, at least not the last fifteen years we’d been attending. Some people borrowed books, but there was no system to check out or keep track of what kinds of books caught people’s interest. No new books were being added, and many books were falling apart. Some had clearly been donated without thought for if they were right for a church library.
I looked at that library for years, wishing it was different.
Then, I had an idea.
Wouldn’t it be great if someone restarted that library, at least the children’s section? Books needed weeding and repair. New books needed adding. Check out procedures should be posted to welcome borrowing. Most of all, some thought needed to be put into what actually belonged in a church library.
I mentioned the idea to my good friend, who loved it and immediately told her husband, who happens to be the pastor. He loved the idea too, but nothing in our church happens quickly. We still needed elder board approval, especially since we’d be asking for church funds to make this dream a reality.
While I waited, I began doing research. After all, ours wouldn’t be the first church library. There must be resources out there about how to start one!
Nope. I found next to nothing. I’d be starting from scratch.
But not completely. After all, I had C.S. Lewis’s “On Three Ways of Writing for Children” as a guide, plus a decade’s worth of experience reading and reviewing children’s books. I thought and prayed through policies and procedures, recruited help, and came up with a preliminary book list. (You can read about that process on housefullofbookworms.com).
One guiding thought was the books that shaped me as a child. I didn’t check out a lot of books from the library as a kid, church or otherwise, but my mom often took us to the Christian book store and let us pick something to bring home. Those books left their mark on me. Besides Narnia, many of them wouldn’t have been available at our local library. But reading those stories helped form my loves and my worldview. What we read as kids has a tendency to do that.
I also thought about all the wonderful books our family has read together. There were probably families in our church who hadn’t read those books, who didn’t even know about them. This was my chance to introduce kids to books they’d love that would shape their hearts.
It’s been a joy to watch the stack of library cards of books check out grow each week when I check books in after church. But I didn’t have to do add this to my plate. We all have excuses about why we can’t do something. The easiest excuse is that we’re too busy. We just don’t have time.
Me neither. I’m a homeschooling mom. I work part time running the HR at my husband’s office. And I’m a children’s author.
But we are called to serve. If you’ve read this far, if something about this idea calls to you, consider that God might be asking you to step out of your comfort zone and sacrifice some of your time to this project. After all, if it’s something he has for you, he’ll provide the time.
Consider the books that formed you as a child. The books you’d like your children to be formed by, that you have shaped your family culture around. Wouldn’t it be great to share them?
I have to smile now when I see copies of Wingfeather Saga or The Green Ember books in the pews, because I know the kids in our congregation are being shaped in the best ways by reading them.
And I’m delighted to have had a part in that.
Photo by Pierre Bamin on Unsplash
When she’s not writing, Carolyn can be found homeschooling her four wildly-creative kids (though two have now graduated and are pursuing creative careers).
You can find her at http://www.carolynleiloglou.com and on Instagram.
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This is wonderful, Carolyn! A small church in my hometown has a library. I’ve donated some books there but have often wondered if people are using the library and which books they might be reading. I’d love to help more with the library. As a homeschool mom and writer, I know the library is a great asset to the church.