I grew up in a house with many books, and my mom often took us to the newly built local public library. I loved attending the children's library programs, and as a preschooler, I decided I wanted to become a librarian when I grew up.
While kids played outside during recess, I often stayed in the library to read. I asked for the Little House on the Prairie books for birthday and Christmas gifts. I eagerly pored over the Scholastic book catalogs and attended school book fairs in elementary school. During the summer, I’d built a tent in the backyard to read in—I was outside! By high school, my bedroom shelves had fewer knickknacks and more books.
In college, I majored in English literature, and after graduation, I worked for two years in a Christian bookstore doing data entry and book inventory.
The Newton Family Library Is Born
The Newton Family Library began when two bibliophiles, Doug and I, married in 1991. Even though Doug double majored in mathematics and computer science, he also owned several Christian books, biblical reference works, and a collection of science fiction.
When our son reached school age in 2004, Doug arranged our books using a simplified version of the Library of Congress system. He learned this system when he worked at the Seattle Pacific University library during college.
Both of us have some experience working in church libraries. So, organizing a library came to us naturally.
Our book collection filled one bedroom wall of shelves before we began homeschooling. By the time we moved to Whidbey Island in 2014, we had ten overflowing bookcases in our schoolroom, plus books in our office spaces and bedrooms.
Cataloging with a Library Database
Around 2009, a homeschool mom told me about LibraryThing.com, which she used to inventory her books. As a homeschooler who often browsed used bookstores and garage sales, I sometimes bought a book only to find out later we already own a copy. Having my book collection in an online database allows me to check it on my phone before accidentally buying a duplicate.
Using a Library Cat
Realizing that my homeschooling career was soon to end when our son graduated in 2018, and our daughter would graduate in 2022, I decided to become a homeschool mentor and librarian. So, I joined the Tinycat library service that LibraryThing offers to small libraries. Through my Tinycat website, Newton Family Library, people can access my library database and request to borrow a resource
Newton Books from A to Z
- General works such as dictionaries
- Philosophy, Psychology, and Religion
- A few volumes on philosophy, psychology, and logic
- World religions and cults
- An extensive collection on Christianity, the Bible, Theology, Apologetics and Worldview, and juvenile Bible resources.
- Biographies
- World History: mostly books about Western Civilization but also some on the Eastern Hemisphere.
- US History: includes titles that focus on how Christianity shaped American history.
- State History: mostly Washington state.
- Geography, Anthropology, and Recreation
- Atlases, maps, and other books on geography.
- Cultures and customs from around the world.
- Recreation: Travel and Puzzle books.
- Social Sciences
- Economics & Personal Finance.
- Social Issues, many from the Christian perspective.
- Family: marriage, parenting, adoption.
- The LoC doesn’t use this letter.
- Political Science and US Government
- Law
- Education
- History of education, issues in education, and how to homeschool
- Language Arts
- Writing and Literature
- Music
- Fine Arts
- The LoC doesn’t use this letter.
- Language and Literature
- General works on language (writing, grammar, etc.)
- British and American Literature, including drama and poetry
- English translations of World Literature and ancient Greco-Roman Literature.
- Fiction: easy readers; picture books; chapter books; middle grade and teen novels; and adult level novels. Many historical fiction titles. Christmas titles.
- Antique children’s books
- Sciences
- Homeschool science
- Mathematics & Computer Science: mostly my husband’s books.
- Creation Science books and textbooks, published mainly by Answers in Genesis.
- Medicine: a handful of health books
- Agriculture: gardening and animal care.
- Technology
- Children’s books on machines and manufacturing
- Home economics: cooking and sewing
A large selection of juvenile and adult-level biographies with a focus on missionary biographies. This includes 25 YWAM "Christian Heroes Then & Now" titles.
Many of these collections contain children’s and juvenile books but not all. Take a look at Newton Family Library and find something that interests you. Please subscribe to my Newton Library Update Substack newsletter to read upcoming collection reviews.