Different libraries have different views on receiving donated materials (everyone loves cash donations). Here at your Pryor Public Library, we are excited about them! They save us money and help supply our sales and free carts.
Generally speaking, when you donate an item (book, DVD, etc), one of three things happens:
- If it meets our selection criteria, we’ll add it to the collection. If it’s a title we already own, we’ll compare the two and keep the one in better condition.
- If we aren’t adding it to the collection, but we think someone might spend a few cents on it, we’ll put it on our sale shelves. Paperbacks are $0.10, everything else is $0.25. (We make about $1,500 from our sale shelves each year, which is awesome!)
- If it’s not something we think someone will spend money on (it’s older, a textbook, a VHS tape, a Reader’s Digest Condensed book, etc.), we’ll put it on our free cart. Those items are for anyone who wants them.
Occasionally, we’ll have to recycle or throw away donations. That usually happens if the items are dirty/moldy, have been outside long enough to attract insects, or are falling apart. (A good rule to follow about donating items: If you don’t want to touch it, we don’t want to touch it.)
We add just under 1,000 donated items every year, which saves us a considerable amount of money (I’d estimate $5,000 to $10,000 a year). We still have to process donations, which takes time and resources (and is the main reason some libraries decide to decline donated items), but we think it’s worth it.
Sometimes, donations help us add entirely new services. Thanks to the generosity of Pryor’s FTW, we are able to loan video games for the first time ever! We only have Xbox 360 games right now, but should get more soon.
Your donations help a lot. Thank you for thinking of us!