The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

Looking back, I never would have imagined that this “career woman” (as I thought I wanted to be) would ever homeschool, let alone found a library of out-of-print children’s literature, but both endeavors have been eminently rewarding. I can see, now, how God used my childhood interests to prepare me for the adventure, because when I was young, I cataloged my mother’s enormous National Geographic collection (a teacher, she used them for classroom bulletin boards) and built an elaborate “library desk” complete with stamps, cards, and my “pride and joy”—a slanted cardboard “return” chute. Sadly, I then forced my baby sister to request topics so that I could find them and watch her (still under duress) “return” the magazines down the chute. Thankfully, she has forgiven me and is now a member of my library!

In closing, I urge each of you to seek the Lord, because the need for such libraries is great. I’ve long wished there were one in every town! If books were still the Judeo-Christian wonders they were in the mid-1900s, if they still spoke to the “heart” of a created human rather than dispensing lifeless factoids to the electrochemical brains of “ electrochemically evolved humanoids,” the publishers would still be offering worthy books and the public libraries would still be stocking them. Unfortunately, neither is usually the case. A glance through most publisher catalogs is horrifying; the rare book not about the occult, a rock star, or leftist politician is still dead, fragmented, cheap, dreary pulp that hopes to make up for the lack of narrative worthiness ( story), as God used in the Bible and Jesus used in His parables, by instead offering colorful images or frequent, try-to-wake-you-up sidebars. (Please see our fuller

The books kept rolling in,
about 2,500 annually.

with a twinkling eye, chafed: “I don’t mind walking around them; I don’t mind sharing the dinner table with them; I don’t mind pushing them down the countertop to make a PBJ. But I draw the line at wrestling them in the freezer!” (He had discovered my anti-mustiness experiment.) However, together, with the help of friends, we used every inch of space in our home to prepare the books for lending . . . even though we had no space to operate.

Then came a second bombshell! Friends invited us to open the library in their mega-spacious home while they traveled! Within ten days, our house was up for sale and we were renters in theirs! (While there, we began building a home with a special entrance and a restroom for use by visitors to the library; it was completed the same night our landlords returned.)

discussion of this topic in the June 2012 issue of TOS.)

I once was asked to explain myself to public librarians at their state convention. Why on earth did I find value in what they discard, in what was “dated,” they asked! I entered the room feeling like a martyr before lions, but in the end, after sharing what is precious about the

. . . The need for such
libraries is great.

earlier living books, many eyes watered!
“This is why we became librarians,” they
lamented. “We were enamored with such
books as children! How did we fail to see
the changes in children’s literature? Why
did we not guard the precious? But now
it is too late. The great books are gone,
and people only want what is ‘popular.’ If
only we could go back . . .”
Well, “if only” can happen, praise His
name! If you’d like to explore the possi-
bilities—I promise I won’t force you, as I
forced my sister—just give us a shout!

The library “opened” two crazy weeks later within that rental home, with folks patiently waiting for me to find needed books in boxes and stacks—while their husbands assembled bookcases. It was lots of work and lots of fun! I spent 7,000– 10,000 man-hours creating a database of the book treasures, detailing their descriptions, series names, etc., so that we could easily label and search.

The books kept rolling in, about 2,500 annually. Now, fifteen years later, we rent a small commercial room (covered by membership dues and income from yard sales) that is manned by fabulous volunteers. The library got a name along the way: Children’s Preservation Library.

Michelle has always loved books! From teaching herself to read at a very young age to making her baby sister patronize her pretend childhood library, she today has;a;collection;of;25,000;vintage;living books: Children’s Preservation Library ( www.ChildrensPreservationLibrary .com). Naturally, her award-winning TruthQuest History ( www.TruthQuest History.com) curriculum harnesses the incredible potency of these great books, along with pithy and supporting spiritual commentary.