donating books

[bellabee]

Has anyone donated books to their public library? Were there any restrictions in what they would take?

[rowanwitch]

I had a lot of current crime novels in perfect condition they were pleased to take them also some gardening books also perfect condition

[ethandron]

did you not want to donate them to a charity shop bella? i take mine to our local childrens hospice shop so they get any money from them.

[bellabee]

I have nothing at all against donating to charity shops - I do it all the time! - but I have a pile of philip kerr crime novels (the bernie gunther series) that I though it would be good to give to a library, rather than see it broken up through individual sales.

[saxy_jag]

Our service has pretty much stopped taking donations for a number of reasons.

First off, we get offered some frankly quite dodgy, inciteful and sometimes downright offensive material. Librarians are a pretty open-minded bunch, but a line has to be drawn somewhere.

Secondly, we get offered books that are marked in some way - dedications in the front, a bit dog-eared, that sort of thing. People pay their council tax, among other things, in order that their library is stocked with the latest titles in good condition. Also, we feel that the poorest of our borrowers have just as much right to read new books as the more fortunate ones who can afford to buy them.

Thirdly, much of what we're offered just won't issue. It sits there taking up valuable shelf space that could be used to shelve faster moving stock. Not what you want too much of when library funding depends in part on the number of issues.

And fourthly, a lot of it is out of date. It's not such a problem with fiction, but non-fiction can date very quickly. It can be in perfect condition but still smack of 'old' - like a 1980s cookbook, for instance, and in some subjects out of date can be dangerous.

Lastly, for every ten library users that look at this list and say 'that's OK, I don't mind', there will be at least one who wants to know why their council tax is being spent on old/out of date/irrelevant stock or why, indeed, it's not being spent on stock at all.

Our policy now is that we can only accept donated stock if it is new, clean and of relevance to the community the library serves.

[bellabee]

Thanks saxy_jag, that pretty much clears things up. I will be selective in what I offer and the rest will go to the local hospice shop.

[Hopkirk]

With the impending financial cuts, might you not have to lower your standards a bit Saxy?

If you believe our local news, many libraries are going to close to save money.

[JonnyBoy12]

Yes, I am with saxy jag on this one. I have donated books in the past, but they were nearly new, and they wrote to thank me for them. You will always get someone who wants to know where all their council tax has been spent, and will take issue with old books.

Hope this helps.

[bellabee]

I took the cream of my used books to the local library. The librarian looked a little thrown when I asked if they would like to look through them before I took them to the charity shop. Her only question was 'are they current best sellers?'. I explained about the complete Bernie Gunther series, which isn't best seller material but Philip Kerr is widely regarded as a superb thriller writer. She seemed interested and said she would take the bag of books and that anything they didn't want she would take them to the charity shop herself. I think that was a fair outcome.