In 2001 the Johnsburg Public Library received a $55,000 grant to establish a Homeschool Resource Center. Funding for this grant was provided by the Illinois State Library, a Division of the Office of Secretary of State, using federal LSTA funding.

With the HRC’s materials you can ‘”try before you buy” a wide variety of curriculum materials including Sonlight, MasterBooks, Easy Grammar,  Language Lessons for a Living Education, Five in a Row, The Story of Science Series, Life of Fred, and many, many more. Check them out and bring them home for up to six weeks and see if they are right for your family’s unique needs before you start spending a lot of money on things that may or may nor work.

Q: What exactly is in the HRC?

• literature about homeschooling
• curriculum materials for all grade levels and in many formats including books, video, and computer-based materials 
• science equipment such as glassware, microscopes and telescopes and kits for learning about everything from DNA to optics
• math manipulatives
• educational board games, software and music
• catalogs from homeschool suppliers

Q: Who can use the HRC?
A: Anyone at all can use the HRC. You do not need to homeschool. We do require children to be accompanied by an adult because of the many small pieces and fragile items.

Q: May I check things out?
A. Anyone with a valid, full service, Illinois public library card (a library you are paying taxes to) may check out items. (Click here to see the Illinois law regarding rules for purchasing a library card if you are NOT paying taxes to any public library.) We do remind you that while book items may be returned to any Illinois library, they should be returned at least 2 weeks before they are due to allow for transit time. All non-book items need to be returned directly to the Johnsburg Library.

It is also very important that you understand you are responsible for all of the pieces of any item you check out. Please count everything before you leave the library and again before you return it.

Q: How long may I keep the items?
A: All items in the HRC can be checked out for 6 weeks. You may renew the items for an additional 6 weeks as long as there are no holds on the item.

Q: How is the HRC collection arranged?
A: The materials are arranged according to the Dewey Decimal System. We cannot arrange books by grade level because too many materials are for multiple grade levels. Here is a quick guide:

• 000 Generalities
       020 Library & Information Sciences
• 100 Philosophy & Psychology
• 200 Religion
• 300 Social Sciences
       320 Political Science
       330 Economics
       340 Law
       370 Education
       390 Customs, Etiquette, Folklore
• 400 Languages
       425 English Grammar
• 500 Natural Sciences & Math
       510 Mathematics
            512 Algebra
            513 Arithmetic
            516 Geometry
        530 Physics
       540 Chemistry & Allied Sciences
       550 Earth Sciences
       570 Life Sciences
• 600 Technology (Applied Sciences)
• 700 The Arts
• 800 Literature & Rhetoric
       810 American Literature in English
       811 Poetry
       812 Drama
       815 Speeches
• 900 Geography & History

Need Personal Assistance?
Free one-on-one meetings are available by appointment. Contact the library’s  educational consultant at kwentz899261@gmail.com