Public Library Donation Idea - love help fleshing out

[vulcan_girl]

It really varies from library to library how they treat donated materials. My library does have a person who goes through donations and decides if any will fit the collection. Keep in mind that most times what people donate to libraries aren't fit for shelves, they're old, moldy, smoky, out of date, etc., so they go to the sales. Sometimes there are already 5 copies of the book in storage (if they have the room). For this reason, some libraries will just send everything to the sales, where the money raised DOES go back to the library.

Another reason why libraries won't shelve donations is because it's too costly to have the item processed in-house. By that I mean adding the record, stamping, and covering the materials. When libraries order materials, some have procedures where they pay something like 50 cents per item to have it arrive shelf-ready. If they are doing it in-house, the cost of the librarian's time and materials outweigh that 50 cents. In these budget crunched time, that can add up quickly.

If you're that interested in donating books to your library, check with them to find out if you can make a monetary donation for a specific purpose.

Yes, I work in libraries.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by vulcan_girl

It really varies from library to library how they treat donated materials. My library does have a person who goes through donations and decides if any will fit the collection. Keep in mind that most times what people donate to libraries aren't fit for shelves, they're old, moldy, smoky, out of date, etc., so they go to the sales. Sometimes there are already 5 copies of the book in storage (if they have the room). For this reason, some libraries will just send everything to the sales, where the money raised DOES go back to the library.

Another reason why libraries won't shelve donations is because it's too costly to have the item processed in-house. By that I mean adding the record, stamping, and covering the materials. When libraries order materials, some have procedures where they pay something like 50 cents per item to have it arrive shelf-ready. If they are doing it in-house, the cost of the librarian's time and materials outweigh that 50 cents. In these budget crunched time, that can add up quickly.

If you're that interested in donating books to your library, check with them to find out if you can make a monetary donation for a specific purpose.

Yes, I work in libraries.

I did ask. I got *crickets* and placed on hold. And hung up on (ooops, mistake). I got voicemail (tons and tons of voicemail). And finally I speak to the "director" who tells me he has never had this question answered before, so it needs to be brought up in a meeting... I'm not holding my breath.

[vulcan_girl]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

I did ask. I got *crickets* and placed on hold. And hung up on (ooops, mistake). I got voicemail (tons and tons of voicemail). And finally I speak to the "director" who tells me he has never had this question answered before, so it needs to be brought up in a meeting... I'm not holding my breath.

That's the sign of a crappy director and lack of a library policy. You're wasting your time with them.