Homeschoolers in the Library
Research Project
MaryAnn Wingenbach
Is your library looking for patrons? There is a population that you may be overlooking: homeschoolers.
While the exact number of homeschooled students today is not known, the consensus of opinion is that the number is steadily growing.
"The homeschooling population has grown from some 10,000 to 15,000 children in the 1960s to perhaps one million children by 2001
(roughly 2 percent of the school-aged population). Assuming annual growth of 10 percent, from 923,700 to 1,275,098 children would be
homeschooled by the school year 2001-02" (Lines, 1).
The growth of this segment of the population has led to studies, books, reports and programs by public librarians, the American
Library Association and the Public Library Association -among others- as to how public libraries can meet the specific needs of
homeschoolers:
- During 1990-1992, the Parent Education Services Committee developed and published Homeschoolers and the Public Library: A
Resource Guide for Libraries Serving Homeschoolers, edited by Susan G. Scheps and published by the Public Library Association.
The chapters include "Problems Encountered by Public Libraries Serving Homeschoolers; What Home Schoolers Want from Public
Libraries; and Sample Programs and Services" (Scheps).
- In 1994, "recognizing that homeschooling numbers have increased dramatically in the last decade, that homeschoolers are among
the heaviest users of the public library, that homeschooling needs have not been fully understood, the Research Group in the School of
Library and Information Science" (Geist 3) of the University of South Florida identified the issues which homeschoolers present
to public libraries and they asked the librarians how they were meeting the challenge. The report of the study is titled, "Florida
Librarians Respond to Home Education."
- A Guide to Homeschooling for Librarians, written by David C. Brostrom and published by Highsmith Press in 1995, provides
information on how to contact homeschoolers and how to determine their needs, while listing some of the "critical issues in
planning services" (Brostrom 25).
- The National Home Education Network (NHEN) maintains a website which provides questions and answers on the topics: "What
Librarians Want to Know About Homeschooling" and "What Librarians Need to Know About Homeschooling." There is a link
to a list of homeschoolers' needs including space for meetings and classes, family-oriented programs and activities, volunteer
opportunities and access to technology among others.
So, as a result of these studies, websites, and books, are the public libraries meeting the needs of the local homeschoolers? What
are the most requested services? Which services are still needed? To ascertain the point of view and experience of the homeschoolers
themselves, this researcher developed and - via email - sent a letter and accompanying questionnaire to 328 homeschooling organizations
in the 50 states (Appendix A). The organizations' email addresses were found on Jon Shemitz's website:
"Jon's Homeschool
Resource Page".
At first, many responses indicated that - for safety reasons - the websites refused all attachments. Then, the administrators of a
homeschool website in California (CHN - California Homeschool Network)
offered to set up the questionnaire online. The results were:
- 538 responses to the questionnaire were received (504 online, plus 34 emails);
- 383 responders indicated the state where they were living, while 155 left the line blank;
The responses, state by state, were as follows:
Alabama | 1 |
|
Georgia | 5 |
|
Maryland | 22 |
|
New Jersey | 11 |
|
South Dakota | 4 |
Alaska | 0 |
|
Hawaii | 1 |
|
Massachusetts | 13 |
|
New York | 12 |
|
Tennessee | 3 |
Arizona | 2 |
|
Idaho | 0 |
|
Michigan | 19 |
|
North Carolina | 10 |
|
Texas | 6 |
Arkansas | 1 |
|
Illinois | 2 |
|
Minnesota | 5 |
|
North Dakota | 5 |
|
Utah | 1 |
California | 36 |
|
Indiana | 14 |
|
Mississippi | 0 |
|
Ohio | 3 |
|
Vermont | 2 |
Colorado | 8 |
|
Iowa | 1 |
|
Missouri | 20 |
|
Oklahoma | 4 |
|
Virginia | 27 |
Connecticut | 1 |
|
Kansas | 2 |
|
Montana | 1 |
|
Oregon | 13 |
|
Washington | 24 |
D.C. | 1 |
|
Kentucky | 1 |
|
Nebraska | 3 |
|
Pennsylvania | 6 |
|
West Virginia | 4 |
Delaware | 0 |
|
Louisiana | 10 |
|
Nevada | 1 |
|
Rhode Island | 1 |
|
Wisconsin | 3 |
Florida | 28 |
|
Maine | 27 |
|
New Hampshire | 6 |
|
South Carolina | 8 |
|
Wyoming | 1 |
