How the Lubbock Book-Sharing Program Works

Give My Books Network is a nationwide community book-sharing network. The Lubbock program is the local expression of it. The idea is simple: donors who have books to pass on connect with readers, classrooms, and organizations that need them — without either side having to navigate the gap.

On the donor side, you pack the books and schedule a free pickup. A Local Pick-Up Partner collects on a scheduled service day. You set the items out by 8 AM and the partner handles the rest. Books and media move on to readers, schools, libraries, nonprofits, and organizations that request them through the Give ME Books program.

On the request side, schools, after-school tutoring programs, ESL classrooms, senior centers, homeless shelters, prison literacy programs, Little Free Library stewards, and other community organizations across the South Plains submit requests through Give ME Books. Many requests in the Lubbock area come from Title I schools, ESL programs serving the area's growing bilingual population, and homeschool networks scattered across rural communities outside the city.

Who Tends to Donate in Lubbock

The donors are not one type of person. Texas Tech graduates clearing the boxes from their old room in their parents' Tech Terrace house. Older residents downsizing from a long-held home in North Overton. Snowbirds who keep a winter place in Wolfforth and clear out books at the end of the season. Families managing a parent's estate near University Avenue. Teachers retiring from a long career at LISD or Lubbock-Cooper and clearing classroom libraries.

The thread connecting all of them is that they care what happens to the books. Throwing books away doesn't feel right. Donating to a place where the books actually get used does.

Who Tends to Request Books Through Give ME Books

Schools that serve students who don't have books at home. The Lubbock Public Library running summer reading programs. Senior centers that keep small lending shelves. Little Free Libraries scattered across neighborhoods including parts of the Heart of Lubbock and along the older streets near the Texas Tech campus. ESL classrooms working through reading levels. Tutoring programs in underserved areas. Homeless shelters that maintain reading corners.

Most of those organizations can't afford to buy fresh inventory at retail. Donated books fill the gap.

What the Pickup Looks Like

Enter your ZIP code on the Give My Books Network site. If a Local Pick-Up Partner serves your area, you can book a service day instantly. If not, your request enters the out-of-area pickup system where nearby partners may claim it. Either way, the pickup is free, the partner handles the loading and the sorting, and your books move into the program.

Pack books and media into boxes or bags that aren't too heavy. On the day, leave them in a covered, dry spot starting at 8 AM. The pickup window runs from 8 AM to 8 PM. You don't need to be home.

Why Community Book-Sharing Matters Here

Lubbock has a strong reading culture. The Texas Tech library system is sizable. The Lubbock Public Library runs active programs. But a book-sharing network covers a different gap. It moves books that have already been read — that are sitting in closets and garages — toward people and programs that can put them back into use.

Patterns of community book donation across the country are documented in part by libraries and library associations. The American Library Association's Book Donation Programs guide describes how community book-sharing programs operate, where books typically end up, and how requests get matched to inventory. Give My Books Network fits inside that broader landscape, with the doorstep pickup model lowering the friction on the donor side.

Some collected items may be resold by the partner to help sustain the free pickup service. That's part of what keeps the model running without donor fees. Items that cannot be reused may eventually be recycled as a last resort.