Donation of Books and Other Materials
Donation of Books and Other Materials
The Public Library Albuquerque and Bernalillo County appreciates the generosity of those who wish to donate books and other materials. Donations of books and audiovisual materials that are in good condition are accepted. Some items will not be accepted in the branches. For example, books with mold, handwriting and/or highlighting, magazines, Reader's Digest condensed books, encyclopedias or textbooks are not accepted. Donors are encouraged to recycle these materials.
Donations are reviewed at the branch level and may be selectively added to our collection. Factors considered for addition are content, condition, currency, relevance, collection need and space. Please be aware that there is a financial burden for the library to add donated items to the collection. These costs include: evaluation, data entry, accounting, cataloging, processing and distribution. In some cases these costs may exceed the cost of the item being donated.
Most donations become the property of the Friends of the Public Library and are sold at Book Sales for the benefit of the Albuquerque / Bernalillo County Library. Friends' Book Sales provide vital funds for library programs and services at all 19 branches. The Friends decide if an item will be sold at a Book Sale or recycled if appropriate. Donated materials are not able to be returned.
Author and publisher donations will be vetted by the Collections Development Manager. These items must meet the same standards as all other materials donations. Items not added to the collection will be sent to the Friends. By law the library cannot appraise donations, but will gladly issue receipts for the number of items donated. Monetary gifts are accepted and used to purchase materials as requested by the donor.
