The Dos and Don’ts of Donation

Learn How You Can Help Us Maximize the Potential of BBB’s Library

As we continue to grow, BBB is finding new opportunities to engage in community sharing while expanding our network of donors, partners, and friends. With many collaborations on the horizon, we’re becoming more intentional with how we process donations, since so many of our operations rely on gifted books. For the sake of sustainability we’re refining the way we accept donations, whether from personal libraries or established publishers.

Here are some questions to ask yourself before donating:

Which books am I planning to donate?

While we appreciate the impulse to donate books from home libraries, our mission is to send clients the exact titles they request, or books on the precise subjects in which they are interested. We are working on new wish lists to accommodate these requests—visit our Take Action page to help us add to them.

How many books am I planning to donate?

If you do have books that you think will serve our clients, please let us know via the Donate Books form, and please include as precise an estimate as possible of how many books you would like to give, since we have very limited storage space and do not offer a pick-up service. The best way to send us books is by mail. BBB offers a wide variety of genres and types of book in order to fit the reading needs of all we serve and we welcome diverse donations. We ask only for honesty and thoroughness when communicating with us about book donations.

How can I purchase books for BBB’s library?

While getting books into prisons is our number one priority, we are striving towards becoming a more conscious nonprofit by supporting other local, independent bookstores and businesses. To this end, we are pleased to announce a new partnership with Merritt Bookstore, an independent shop in Hudson Valley, New York. Our hope is to partner with such stores to source all our books, thereby eliminating our reliance on Amazon.

Who am I?

We want to thank everyone who has sent us books via our Wish Lists or in-person drop-off. It is important to us that we have the opportunity thank everyone who shares with us so, if you send us books, please let us know who you are (unless you’d like to remain anonymous). We’d be glad to send you a letter of acknowledgement. If you make a financial contribution via the website, please make sure to doublecheck names and addresses for accuracy. Also, please share your e-mail address with us to receive our newsletter and information on community events and chances for goodies. We promise not to spam you!

What else beyond donations?

Be sure to check our Send Us Books page for the most up-to-date information about which donations we’re most interested in receiving. Although we occasionally welcome surplus inventory from publishers and independent authors, please avoid preparing a list of titles to send to us directly. We receive many donation requests and can only get back to those who have titles that fit our changing needs.

As a small operation, Books Beyond Bars thanks everyone who has donated to our program; every dollar, book, or other resource that you’ve shared with us adds to our strength. Our home site of the Center for Appellate Litigation, the incarcerated individuals we serve, our neighboring partners, and our office team thank you for your generosity and support.