Library Initiative

The Alliance for Self-Directed Education (ASDE) envisions publicly funded libraries as being centers for self-directed education. The Library Initiative is the effort, on the part of ASDE, to encourage and facilitate the movement for libraries to become full learning, play, and community centers.

The primary mission of ASDE is to make Self-Directed Education possible for everyone, regardless of family background or income. One route toward achieving this mission is to work with libraries to help them expand their services. This may be the most efficient means to promote public funding of Self-Directed Education, while at the same time supporting programs that are valuable to the whole community.

Every community has a publicly supported library, open and welcoming to everyone free of charge. As books and other reading material have become increasingly available online, libraries everywhere are looking to expand their services. Many have created maker spaces, some are sponsoring free play during specific days and hours at the library. Many are offering a host of other community services, and some have already made strides toward being full community centers, where people, including children, are welcome to socialize and engage in activities of their own choosing.

Homeschoolers, including unschoolers, are already heavy users of libraries, often well known to and appreciated by the library staff.

One way we can support this initiative is attending library programs and holding self-directed education group meetings at our local libraries. I encourage you to seek out programs of interest to your family at your local libraries. We have many wonderful libraries in the general vicinity in which Raw Learning operates. Many libraries offer after school programming for kids, and some offer programming specific to homeschoolers.