How We Help
    Libraries

    Give My Books Network picks up the books your library can't take — large donor lots, weeded discards, Friends sale leftovers, and donation-door overflow. Free to the library, free to the donor, and operating in 46 states and 9,909 cities, alongside 35+ libraries already working with us.
    Boxes of donated books stacked on a cart in a library workroom

    The boxes that pile up behind the scenes — that's our job.

    Here's how we help libraries

    Four ways we take the pressure off when donations exceed what you can handle.

    Start here

    Libraries work differently — so do we

    Most of the pickups on our site are set up for homeowners and businesses: leave boxes on the porch by 8 AM, pickup between 8 AM and 8 PM. That works for a front porch. It doesn't work for a library, so for libraries we run it your way.

    Docks, back rooms, and side doors

    Tell us where the boxes actually live and where the truck should pull in.

    Staffed hours, not a 12-hour window

    We schedule inside the hours someone is there to unlock a door and point at a pallet.

    Hard cutoffs, not guesses

    Tell us the date the room has to be empty and we'll be there before it.

    Volume that doesn't scare us

    Twenty boxes or a full storage room — we size the pickup to the pile.

    1

    Large donor lots you can't take

    Someone calls with a house full of books, a downsizing, or a big clean-out. You don't have room for it, or you can't send staff to haul it. Send them to us instead.

    We go to the donor's home, garage, or storage unit and pick up the whole lot for free. The donor doesn't hit a dead end, and the books stay in circulation.

    You get to send them somewhere helpful without taking on books you have no room for.

    2

    Overflow at the donation door

    Donations pile up fast. The bin overflows, boxes stack by the donation door, and staff end up triaging cardboard instead of doing their jobs.

    Call us when it's stacking up and we'll clear it, usually within days. Nobody has to be turned away, and the boxes don't sit in a hallway until someone has a free Saturday.

    A Pick-Up Partner loading boxes of books from a library loading dock into a van

    We come to the dock, on your schedule.

    3

    Weeded books, discards, and Friends sale leftovers

    Weeding is part of collection management. After a Friends sale, there are always good books left over. We'll pick them up before your deadline and put them back in circulation.

    Those books also feed our Give ME Books program, where libraries, schools, teachers, and Little Free Libraries can request free books for their shelves and programs.

    4

    Run your own library-branded pickup system

    Some libraries and Friends groups already pick up books from the community — usually with a phone list, a shared inbox, and a volunteer's memory. We can put the same infrastructure the Network runs nationwide behind your own operation: a "Schedule a Pickup" button on your library's website, under your library's brand, with your team managing the requests.

    Areas by day

    Decide which neighborhoods get picked up on which days.

    Daily limits

    Cap how many pickups a day so no one gets overwhelmed.

    Assign staff & volunteers

    Give each person their own list for the day.

    Automatic route optimization

    Stops ordered for you — less driving, fewer hours.

    Automated reminders

    Donors get confirmations and reminders, so no-shows nearly disappear.

    One unified source

    Every request in one place instead of three inboxes and a notepad.

    Here's a look at the back end your team would be working in — the same system our Pick-Up Partners use every day to keep donations and routes organized.

    Every request in one dashboardTap to enlarge
    Set your areas and pickup daysTap to enlarge
    Give staff and volunteers their own listTap to enlarge

    This one isn't a form-and-go — it's a conversation. Every library system is built a little differently. and we'll walk your team through what it would look like.

    Already used by 35+ library and Friends groups.

    Coming soon

    Scheduled drop-offs

    We're building a way for donors to book a drop-off time at your library instead of showing up unannounced, so the flow through your door is spread out and staffed. Interested in scheduling drop-offs to manage your flow? Let us know and we'll bring you in early.

    We're not competing with you

    "To the making of many books, there is no end."

    — An ancient proverb from the world's best-selling book

    People who want to give to their library will give to their library, and they should. What we handle is everything past your capacity — the big lots, the overflow, and the leftovers that would otherwise end in a "no" or a dumpster.

    How it works

    Book every pickup through the Network

    Requests come in through us and get routed to a local Pick-Up Partner. Some areas confirm right away; in newer areas your request goes out to Partners nearby and we keep you posted until it's claimed. Either way, keep scheduling through the Network — even with the same friendly Partner each time. That's how the pickup is tracked, backed up if someone is out, and counted toward how we're serving libraries nationwide.

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    Explore

    More about the Network

    Libraries are one part of what we do. Here are the other places to point donors, staff, and volunteers depending on what they need.

    Let's talk

    Tell us about your library

    Whether it's a one-time cleanup, a standing pickup after every sale, or your own library-branded pickup system, start here and we'll reach out.

    No obligation. We'll only use this to contact you about your library.

    Ready now? Schedule a free pickup

    Enter your library's ZIP code to see the next available date. Boxes, bags, loose stacks, or a full room — it all works.

    Pickup Request Form

    Enter your ZIP code to begin your pickup request