--- title: "How to Prepare Books for Donation | A Denver Guide" description: "How to prepare books for donation in Denver, step by step: what to pack them in, how heavy is too heavy, where to set them out, and how to plan for hail." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://givemybooksnetwork.com/#organization", "name": "Give My Books Network", "legalName": "Book Sourcing Mastery, LLC", "url": "https://givemybooksnetwork.com", "logo": "https://givemybooksnetwork.com/social-card.jpg", "image": "https://givemybooksnetwork.com/social-card.jpg", "description": "Give My Books Network is a nationwide United States network of local Pick-Up Partners who collect used books, textbooks, CDs and DVDs for free directly from the donor's door, resell what is sellable and rehome the rest to schools, libraries, shelters and nonprofits.", "foundingDate": "2022", "telephone": "+1-855-506-8633", "email": "support@givemybooksnetwork.com", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "2091 Stratton Ct.", "addressLocality": "Ann Arbor", "addressRegion": "MI", "postalCode": "48108", "addressCountry": "US" }, "contactPoint": { "@type": "ContactPoint", "telephone": "+1-855-506-8633", "contactType": "customer service", "email": "support@givemybooksnetwork.com", "availableLanguage": "English" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/givemybooksnetwork", "https://www.instagram.com/givemybooksnetwork", "https://twitter.com/givemybooks" ], "areaServed": { "@type": "Country", "name": "United States" } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Organization", "name": "Give My Books Network", "legalName": "Book Sourcing Mastery, LLC", "url": "https://givemybooksnetwork.com", "logo": "https://givemybooksnetwork.com/social-card.jpg", "image": "https://givemybooksnetwork.com/social-card.jpg", "description": "Give My Books Network provides free door-to-door book donation pickup services across the United States. We collect books, textbooks, CDs, DVDs, and more – giving your items a second life while supporting literacy programs.", "foundingDate": "2022", "telephone": "+1-855-506-8633", "email": "support@givemybooksnetwork.com", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "2091 Stratton Ct.", "addressLocality": "Ann Arbor", "addressRegion": "MI", "postalCode": "48108", "addressCountry": "US" }, "contactPoint": { "@type": "ContactPoint", "telephone": "+1-855-506-8633", "contactType": "customer service", "email": "support@givemybooksnetwork.com", "availableLanguage": "English" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/givemybooksnetwork", "https://www.instagram.com/givemybooksnetwork", "https://twitter.com/givemybooks" ], "areaServed": { "@type": "Country", "name": "United States" } } ] --- Feedback ![Give My Books Network Logo](/assets/gmbn-logo-BsMIhLrP.png) - Learn More Schedule Pick-UpGive ME BooksBecome a Pick-Up Partner Sign In Home› Denver, CO› Learn More # How to prepare books for donation in Denver How to prepare books for donation in Denver, step by step: what to pack them in, how heavy is too heavy, where to set them out, and how to plan for hail. # How to Prepare Books for Donation: A Denver Guide **Quick answer:** Pack the books yourself into boxes or sturdy bags, keep each one light enough for one person to carry, and set them out by 8 AM in a dry, covered spot. A Give My Books Network Local Pick-Up Partner collects them anywhere in Denver between 8 AM and 8 PM. Your partner does not bring boxes, and you do not need to be home. ## How Do You Prepare Books for Donation in Denver? Pack, schedule, set out. Give My Books Network asks the donor to do the packing in advance, because a Local Pick-Up Partner arrives to collect what is already boxed and waiting rather than to load a shelf. 1. Gather the books into one spot — the dining table, the garage floor, wherever there is room. 2. Pack them into moving boxes, banker's boxes, totes, or doubled grocery bags. 3. Keep every container light enough that one person can carry it alone. 4. Do not sort. Hardcovers, paperbacks, DVDs, CDs, and games all ride together. 5. Schedule your service day with Give My Books Network. 6. Set everything out by 8 AM in a dry, covered spot. 7. If hail or wet snow is in the forecast, put a lid, a tarp, or a bag over the cardboard. That is the whole job. Collection runs from 8 AM to 8 PM, and nobody needs to be home. ## What Should You Pack Books In? Anything sturdy with a bottom that will hold. Moving boxes and banker's boxes are ideal, plastic totes are excellent in weather, and doubled grocery bags work fine for a small load. Your Local Pick-Up Partner does not bring boxes. That surprises people once and never twice, so it is worth repeating: whatever is packed and set out by 8 AM is what travels. A single flimsy grocery bag with fourteen hardcovers in it will not survive the walk to the vehicle. ## How Heavy Is Too Heavy for One Box? If you cannot carry it across the room by yourself, it is too heavy. Books are deceptive — a banker's box packed tight with hardcovers can top fifty pounds without looking like much. Split the heavy ones. Two half-full boxes are a kindness to everyone involved, and there is no charge per box, so splitting costs you nothing. Mix paperbacks in with the hardcovers to spread the load, and leave a little air at the top. ## Where to Set the Boxes Out in Denver The covered porch is the natural spot. Denver's brick bungalows and Denver squares came with deep front porches, and a post-war brick ranch usually has an alley garage — both are exactly what a Local Pick-Up Partner is hoping to find. - **Covered front porch** — the default, and the best of them. - **Alley garage** — leave the door up or the side door unlocked and the boxes just inside. - **Townhome stoop** — under the overhang, out of the walking line. - **Building front desk** — for downtown and RiNo buildings, leave a note with your name. Wherever you choose, make it findable from the street and out of the weather. Nobody wants to hunt. ## How Denver Weather Changes the Plan Denver's dry air is on your side and Denver's sky is not. Books stored for years in a local garage or basement usually come out fine — no mildew, no swelling — because the humidity simply is not there to ruin them. The set-out day is where it gets interesting. A wet March snow can drop a foot before noon, and summer hail can turn a cardboard box into pulp in ten minutes. Check the forecast the night before, and if it looks lively, put a tote lid or a contractor bag over the top. Sun matters too: a box baking in full altitude sun all afternoon will fade every spine facing up. ## Do You Need to Sort Anything First? No sorting at all. Hardcovers and paperbacks in the same box, children's books mixed with textbooks, a stack of DVDs on top of a puzzle, vinyl records leaning against a board game. 'Should I separate the kids' books?' Nope. 'Do the CDs go in a different bag?' They do not. Local Pick-Up Partners sort everything offsite after collection, and they are considerably faster at it than you will be at your dining table on a Thursday night. Pack it together and hand it over. ## What Happens After the Denver Pickup Your Local Pick-Up Partner sorts everything offsite. Many items are redistributed through the Give ME Books program to schools, libraries, nonprofits, literacy programs, senior centers, and Little Free Libraries that have run dry. Some items are resold by the partner, which is what pays for the vehicle and the free service. Items that cannot be reused may eventually be recycled, as a last resort. Libraries cannot take most of what is offered to them — the [Book Donation Programs guide from the American Library Association](https://libguides.ala.org/book-donations) is honest about why — and that overflow is exactly what a doorstep pickup exists to catch. No drive down Federal Boulevard with a car full of boxes required. ### Ready to schedule your free Denver book pickup? We'll come to your door — no cost, no hassle. Book pickup, DVD pickup, large-quantity, estate, and more in Denver, CO. Schedule Free Pickup Or browse all Denver donation services including Textbook Donations , DVD & Media Donation Pickup , Scheduled Book Pickup . ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Does the Local Pick-Up Partner bring boxes? ### How should I pack books for a Denver donation pickup? ### Do I need to sort books before pickup? ### Where should I leave the boxes in Denver? ### What if it snows or hails on my service day? ### Do I need to be home for the pickup? ## More from Denver Learn More Best places to donate books in Denver Learn More Book landfill diversion Learn More Handling a large book collection in Denver Service Textbook Donations in Denver Service DVD & Media Donation Pickup in Denver Service Scheduled Book Pickup in Denver Back to Denver Donation Services ![Give My Books Network Logo](/assets/gmbn-logo-BsMIhLrP.png) **America's Nationwide Community Book-Sharing Network.** Free book and media pickup service! 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