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Libraries Don’t Want Your Moldy Books
Four types of books not to donate to your library and four surprising things to donate
Your average public library is not an archive with special collections. They are not a museum. They do not have infinite storage space. And everyone and their mom who is spring cleaning want to donate their old books, magazines, and the like to their library. As a culture we just have a thing against throwing away books — and that is understandable and even admirable. But libraries are not the dumping grounds for old books.
Yes, some will gladly take your donations. Some will ask you to hold off or redirect you to another community program in need. While it never hurts to ask, here are some common items that most public libraries are going to gracefully turn down. And a few things you might be surprised they will accept.
Things Not to Donate
Newspapers and magazines
Even before the advent of the internet and digitization, libraries did not keep hard copies of a lot of old newspapers and periodicals. Microfilm and microfiche everyone? Hardcopy newspapers are way too bulky and — especially — in the case of newspapers, delicate.
