National Library Week: Supporting Libraries

"...remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" (Acts 20:35)

We are often asked whether we accept used book donations. It may sound strange, but the Darling Library prefers not to receive book donations. According to a 2010 cost analysis of processing used book donations at Hope, a "free" book ends up costing the library anywhere from $10 to $40. It takes time to evaluate its physical condition, find out if we already have it or not, determine whether we want a second or third copy, decide whether it is scholarly, fits the needs of the curriculum, and so on.

However, we can't seem to stop people from giving! (How can we say no?) To facilitate this desire to give, we have developed a partnership with an organization called Better World Books.  To support the Darling Library with your used books, you can drop them off for a gift in-kind receipt and we will send them to Better World Books to sell on our behalf. HIU gets a portion of the proceeds to enable us to buy books that our faculty recommends and a portion goes to support a literacy program in Africa. You give. We give. Everybody wins!

You can also support us by buying books from our online "Sidewalk Sale." Shipping is free anywhere in the US. Again, everybody wins!

Of course, we also accept monetary donations!

Would you like to donate books to a needy library? The American Library Association provides a fact sheet with information about organizations that facilitate this. (Sending Books to Needy Libraries: Book Donation Programs ALA Library Fact Sheet 12)