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Starting a Church Children’s Library

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I recently volunteered to restart our church’s children’s library, and I thought y’all might be interested in the process. After all, when I went looking for resources on how to start a church library, I found very little. And even if you could never see yourself as a volunteer church librarian, you might be interested in the book list below.

My church growing up had a good sized library, but being a rather shy child, I never ventured in. We’ve been members at our current church for over a decade. I knew there was a library, but it seemed to have been set up long ago with some complicated cataloging system that was no longer followed. No one was weeding it or adding new books. We have a lot of kids in our smallish congregation, so I thought volunteering as children’s librarian might be a way I could use my gifts to serve.

Here are the steps I took to establish our church’s children’s library.

1. Ask if starting a children’s library is a need at your church

The first thing I did, after talking with my husband and praying, was as a couple friends at church. They were excited about the idea and encouraged me to pursue it.

Next, I talked to the pastor. Who you talk to could vary depending on the size and set up of your church. You may need to approach an elder or committee. But I know my pastor well, and he has several kids. Needless to say, he excited about the idea and agreed to take it to the church elder board.

2. Develop a mission statement for the library

Next, I developed a mission statement for our children’s library. Before this idea was presented to the board or congregation, I wanted to clarify the intention behind this project. This isn’t just helpful in casting a vision. It’s also essential because it will help determine what kinds of books belong in your church library.

Here are some examples of topics you need to consider: Christian romance, fictional magic and how it’s handed (remember, a no magic policy excludes Narnia). I’d recommend reading C.S. Lewis’s article “On Three Ways of Writing for Children” to start your thought process.

3. Make a wish list of books

Once I had a mission statement, I made a list of books I’d love to see in our church library. I started with an Excel sheet, but I realized an Amazon wish list was also a great method for sharing the list with co-conspirators.

4. Ask for a book budget

Your church may have an idea of how much they want to spend on a library. But be prepared that they may just ask you for a budget! Thankfully, you already have a book list, so you can estimate spending. But don’t forget supplies you might need, like bookshelves, labels, book card pockets, an address stamp, or a book return bin. I suggest asking for a get started budget plus quarterly funds to add to the library as more books are requested.

5. Create a method for taking book requests

This one was easy for me as I also manage the church’s website. But a web form isn’t the only method. You could have a physical suggestion box in the library.

Whatever method you choose, I’d recommend asking people to read your mission statement before submitting a request.

6. Decide how to handle book donations

Be prepared for people to start handing you random books at church. Ideally, there should be a method for this too. I’ve created a web form for it, but there could be a donation box, or you could ask people to email you photos of the books they’d like to donate.

The important thing is to make sure people know their donated books might not make it to the shelves. Often people will want to donate old paperback books whose condition might not be suitable to a library. Other times, they won’t align with your mission statement. But this is exactly why you need that mission statement. You aren’t choosing by whim (though these conversations still may not be easy). Have a donation method set up for books that are not chosen. It could be a free book bin or you might drop the books off at a resale shop connected with a charity.

7. Weed current titles

If you are revamping an already existing church library, like I am, there may already be a selection of books. In my case, I believe they’ve all been there at least thirty years. Some have pages falling out. Some are very dated and not appealing to young readers. And some, while fine for a home library, have been included into the church library for no apparent reason. I kept about half of the current selection, and I may weed more if it becomes apparent that some titles are not being checked out.

8. Enlist allies

I’d recommend at least one co-conspirator. You’ll want someone who can add something you can’t. Since I’m more of a fiction person, I’m grateful my co-librarian is a non-fiction person. Her kids are also much younger than mine, so she adds a different perspective there as well. Just make sure you can agree on the mission statement!

9. Evaluate ways to catalog books

You could go full library mode and use the Dewey decimal system. But to me, it seems sufficient to have books alphabetical by author in two sections: fiction and non-fiction. We also plan to link to a Google Sheet from the website with a list of all books currently in circulation.

If your church has a consistent budget, you could also consider an electronic catalog through a service like TinyCat.

10. Make the check out procedures clear

Our church uses an honor system rather than a staffed library open only certain hours. However, that doesn’t mean a free-for-all is the only option. Ideally, clearly printed check out signs will help indicate how to check out books. We use book pockets with check out cards. That way, it enables us to see what books are being checked out or who might have forgotten they have a book at home. All the books will have a label on the spine to indicate they are from our church library. Also, rather than having kids or parents re-shelve books on their own, we have a book return basket. This also helps ensure book cards are placed back inside their proper volumes.

Starter Book List for the Children’s Library at my Church

It may not look like a huge list, but this is 80 books total. Combined with the two shelves of books already at the church which are still in decent condition, it seems our library is off to a great start. (I should note that many of these were half price Black Friday purchases and I donated several that I received from publishers for various reasons).

I’m still in the set up phase for our church library, but I hope to have it up and running before the new year!

I’d love to hear if you have any questions or if you have experience starting a church children’s library!