"Through a series of extremely fortunate events, over the past nine months or so, I have become acquainted with several women scattered around the country who run private lending libraries. The ones I know are homeschoolers or former homeschoolers who collected good books for their children’s education and edification. At some point each of them began to share books with other families. Along the way they developed their own process. Each has her own method of storing books, cataloging them, shelving them, and lending them.
These women are not trying to duplicate the public library any more than homeschoolers are trying to duplicate public school. There is no formula for the “right way” to open your own lending library. It starts with a desire to fill a need.
We’ve been so immersed in our current system that we believe we’ve always done it this way. Often, the first response is to hasten to a board meeting expecting to effect reform within the system. That could happen. But we also have the option to repossess our freedoms and reinstitute our institutions."