Donating Books & DVDs

The Shelby County Public Library gratefully accepts gifts and donations with the following conditions:

VHS tapes
Items that have been stored in damp conditions or basements
Items that have a strong odor to them
Reader’s Digest condensed books
Encyclopedias, travel guides, technical books or textbooks greater than 5 years-old
Newspapers
Magazines greater than 3 years old
Illegal copies of materials

Donations of items will only be accepted on the last full calendar week of each quarter.

*Genealogical or Historical items may be donated at any time. Contact ddennison@sscpl.lib.in.us or call 317-398-8144.

December: Monday, Dec. 30 through Friday, Jan. 3

The library reserves the right to evaluate and dispose of them in accordance with the same criteria applied to purchased materials.
Generally, items will be selected for the Library’s collections if they are in good condition and likely to be in demand or fill in gaps in the collection. Materials may be disposed of without notifying the donor if later examination indicates that the library cannot use them.
The Library retains the right to determine where donated items with be utilized.
Donated materials that are not added to the collection are disposed of at the discretion of the Library. The majority of those materials are given to the Friends of the Library for their book sales, or sent to a third-party reseller. Materials that are determined to be of an unusable condition are recycled.
Any materials donated to the library legally and physically become the permanent property of the Library. Records of family and local history also become the permanent property of the Library. Files may be digitized and included in an online database.
The Library will not appraise donated books for tax purposes. The Library will provide (upon request) a receipt for tax purposes of the donor with a space for the donor’s estimated value of the materials.

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