Donating books is like planting seeds of knowledge that will grow to enlighten the present and future generations. So, you can donate your books to the libraries to contribute to your community and society to a large extent. Local libraries also welcome book donors to enrich their collections with donated books.
However, you must follow some guidelines to donate or check out books to the libraries without having hassles. For example, the donated books should be in fair condition for further lending and reading.
Today, I will share everything about giving books to the libraries from my experience that you must know before donating. So, no more words are here. Let’s learn all about donating books to the library.
Why Should You Donate Books to the Library?
Donating books to the library has a great impact on libraries, readers, and communities as a whole. As a book donor, you can also find immense satisfaction in advancing a learning community with your books. Here are some reasons to consider donating your books to the library.
Enriching Library Catalog: You can contribute to enriching your local library’s catalog by donating your books. It can be a great way to meet the versatile demands of readers by the library authority. They can find your books as invaluable publications to read for recreational and academic purposes.
Promoting a Learned Community: Donating your books to the library can play a pivotal role in facilitating a learning-based community. Readers get access to a wider range of publications to meet their thirst for knowledge. Your donated books can be ideal reading materials for readers of all ages.
Strengthening Library Fund: Most libraries practice selling donated books to make their financial fund healthy. Here, your donated books can be a promising source to enhance the financial ability of the local library. In most cases, libraries utilize this fund to support local authors and publishers.
Personal Tax Rebating: As a book donor, you can avail of a tax rebating facility based on your state’s tax policy. If your state taxation authority relaxes a percentage of tax upon book donation as charity work, show library receipts to save a significant amount in your pocket for tax purposes.
Fostering Reading Habit: Your donated books (novels, thrillers, dramas, stories, and more) can make a great change in spreading reading habits among the people of your community. It inspires people to explore new authors, plots, stories, characters, knowledge, and humor from new books.
What Books Should You Donate to the Library?
A donated book must be worthy enough to add value to libraries” collections and readers’ minds. So, you must consider readers’ needs and libraries’ preferences when selecting books to donate to the library.
Bestselling Books: If you have already read the bestselling books of particular years, you can donate them to the library to let others know. For example, you can donate Colleen Hoover’s ‘It Ends with Us,’ one of the bestselling novels of 2023, to meet the demand of thousands of readers.
Classic Books: Classic literature never dies to the readers over the years. So, if you have a collection of classic books, you can donate some of them to enrich your local library’s shelf. Most readers feel weakness in classic books like the evergreen novel ‘Jane Eyre’ by the famous English writer Charlotte Bronte.
Historical Literature: We have a strong attraction to historical events, incidents, and moments. Historical books can be great pieces to donate to the library to let readers explore them. For example, ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’ by Anne Frank can be a worthy choice to give to a library.
Kid Books: Donating kids’ books to the library is an excellent idea to develop a learned generation. You can contribute to growing reading habits among your community’s children by donating well-known kids’ literature like ‘Moonflight’ written by Gill Lewis.
Academic Books: You can also donate academic books, including textbooks and reference materials, to assist students, researchers, and scholars. The educational books will promote the acceptance of the library to the academic and faculty members for their research and learning purposes.
Do Libraries Take Book Donations?
Yes, Most of the libraries in the USA accept book gifts and donations. If you feel like you have nothing more to do with your books or you just want to help people gain knowledge with your little help, visit your local library and tell them you want to donate books. But, there are a few things you need to focus on before donating books to a library.
Dos to Donate Books to the Library:
- Contact local libraries to know their book donation policy & guidelines.
- Understand the demands of the library before preparing your books to donate.
- Arrange the quantities of books that are manageable by the library.
- Confirm the books are in excellent condition.
- Categorize books according to readers’ age and interest.
- Donate hardback and paperback books.
Don’ts to Donate Books to the Library:
- Never charge a fee against book donations.
- Don’t donate books that breach community guidelines.
- Don’t donate audiobooks, magazines, pamphlets, maps, and old textbooks.
- Don’t give the books without ISBNs.
- Don’t donate oversized books.
Book Donation Programs: How to Donate Books to Library?
You can find different book donation programs to join there and donate your books to contribute to the global learning programs. For example, Book Aid International, Little Free Library, and Books for Africa are world-renowned book donation programs. Here are some popular book donation programs for you in detail.
| Name | Country | Type |
| Book Aid International | United Kingdom | Charity/Voluntary |
| Little Free Library | United States of America | Charity/Voluntary |
| Books for Africa | United States of America | Charity/Voluntary |
| American Library Association | United States of America | Charity/Voluntary |
| Reader to Reader | United States of America | Charity/Voluntary |
You can find numerous book donation programs and organizations that encourage common people to donate their books and contribute to the world’s learning landscape.
Here is something more to know about donating books to the libraries. You must care about the commonly asked questions before donating your books.
Do Libraries Take Used Books?
Yes, libraries take old or used books from donors with fair conditions for further lending and reading. So, you can donate your used books to libraries with no tearing and decaying issues.
Is it Weird to Donate Books to The Library?
Never weird, donating books to libraries is a welcoming job that significantly impacts making a knowledgeable community. Moreover, it patronizes local libraries, authors, and publishers.
Concluding Comment
Can you donate books to the library? The answer is pretty straightforward: ‘YES’ with no excuse. Establishing a learned society through promoting reading habits is a praiseworthy job.
Most public libraries appreciate donors who contribute to libraries’ existing collections with various books. It helps libraries to attract more readers to borrow or buy the donated books.
Thus, you can contribute to a library’s financial fund management and patronize local authors & publishers to establish themselves. Moreover, you will be a proud part of developing a knowledgeable community.