Donating Books to Your Library: Guidelines for Donations

 

As the New Years rolls on, many of us take time to clean off our bookshelves to fit in our new Christmas treasures and discard infrequently read books. It is a logical action to donate these books to the Hamilton library or the Williams Memorial Library, either of which may be able to shelve or sell them. However an excess of materials puts quite a strain on the library staff, as weeding through these books is very time consuming. So before you put that old copy of Dickinson poems in the donation box, please consider a few things:

 

Is the book in good shape? If there are torn or missing covers or pages, food or beverage stains, writing or underlining in the book, tooth marks (human or otherwise!) it is not a candidate for donation. Consider as well, if the book has a strong odor (such as cigarette smoke or mothballs).

 

Is the material current? Nonfiction published more than 8 years ago, such as encyclopedias, medical reference materials, health and diet books are generally not recommended for donation.

 

The library does generate a significant amount of funding for summer programs, so gently used books are always welcome. Best selling paperbacks and hardbacks, newer nonfiction, classics, and children’s books are the biggest sellers.

 

You may find at the end of your long day of cleaning and sorting, you strongest inclination is to curl up by the fire with a good book and the very last of the Christmas cookies, so bring your donations to the library and check out our wonderful collection of books and the book sale. There is almost always a buck-a –bag sale going on and plenty of best selling books or movies to fill it up with!