How do I donate materials?
Normal collection procedures apply to all donated materials that are added to the library. Not all donations are added to the library’s collection. If items are deemed inappropriate for the collection they will be passed on to the Friends of the Library who sell them in their book sales and book store.
Please remember that when we receive items that are not useful for the library or not saleable it is an expense to us to discard the items.
How to donate items
Any amount of boxes may be brought to any library location. Please mark the box “donations”. For donations to the Downtown branch, donations are accepted at the Friends of the Library store, located on the 1st floor just inside the main entrance from 12–4 Monday through Saturday. Please drop off donations through the main entrance during these hours. If you need a receipt for your donation please ask at the time of your donation. Questions about what to do donate or not to donate can be directed to Customer Service at 509-444-5300.
Materials accepted
We accept and can use gently used, good fiction, biography, history, or other general topics. The Friends of the Library also accept commercially produced CDs, and DVDs.
Materials NOT accepted
NO damaged materials of any kind, NO textbooks, NO magazines, NO encyclopedias, NO condensed books, NO personally-recorded videos, CDs or DVDs, NO VHS, cassettes or eight-track tapes. Donations of these items cannot be added to the library’s collection and do not sell through the Friends; they end up costing the library money since we have to discard them at our expense.
Donating magazine subscriptions
The library does NOT accept gift magazine subscriptions without approval from the Support Services Manager. In order to be eligible for acceptance the magazine must meet specific requirements and be donated for a minimum of three years. If the library receives unapproved gift magazine subscriptions they will not be added to the library’s collection and will be discarded.
Donating materials as a memorial
We will add materials to the Library collection as memorials. In this situation we prefer to add new materials that we purchase and we will place a bookplate acknowledging the donation. If you are interested in donating in this way please contact the Library Foundation at 509-444-5318. You can also visit the Foundation’s website: www.spokanelibraryfoundation.org.