--- title: "How to Prepare Books for Donation: A Minneapolis Guide" description: "How to prepare books for donation in Minneapolis: boxes, weight, winter porches, brittle tape. A step-by-step guide from Give My Books Network, plus pickup." 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. 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A step-by-step guide from Give My Books Network, plus pickup. Schedule Free Pickup ![A stylized city skyline at golden hour with books in the foreground](/assets/city-scene-fallback-yglTcFEu.jpg) Minneapolis, MN # How to Prepare Books for Donation: A Minneapolis Guide **Quick answer:** Preparing books for donation in Minneapolis takes three steps: pack them into sturdy boxes or doubled bags, keep each one light enough to carry alone, and set them out by 8 AM on the covered porch. Give My Books Network sends a Local Pick-Up Partner between 8 AM and 8 PM. You do not need to be home. ## How Do You Prepare Books for Donation Pickup in Minneapolis? Pack the books yourself, in advance, because a Local Pick-Up Partner arrives to collect what is already boxed and waiting and does not bring boxes. 1. Gather sturdy containers: moving boxes, banker's boxes, plastic totes, or doubled paper grocery bags. 2. Fill each container with books laid flat, spines alternating, so nothing shifts on the way to the vehicle. 3. Keep every box light enough for one person to carry alone. Split the heavy ones. 4. Do not sort. Hardcovers, paperbacks, DVDs, CDs, and video games can all ride together. 5. Tape the bottom seams twice, and in deep cold run a second strip across the top as well. 6. Set everything out by 8 AM on your service day, in a dry, covered spot. 7. Put a lid, a bag, or a plastic bin over the top if snow is anywhere in the forecast. That is the whole job. Give My Books Network handles everything from the porch onward. ## What Should You Pack Books In? Sturdy boxes and doubled grocery bags both work. A single thin bag and a soggy cardboard flat do not. Liquor-store boxes are the quiet favorite: small, thick-walled, and built for weight. Banker's boxes with lids are better still in a Minneapolis winter, because the lid is the snow protection. Plastic totes work fine if you do not need them back. ## How Heavy Should a Box of Books Be? Aim for a box one person can lift and carry to a vehicle without setting it down, which in practice means keeping it under about forty pounds. Books are deceptively heavy. A large moving box packed full of hardcovers can pass eighty pounds, and eighty pounds on an icy front walk is how somebody gets hurt. Half-fill the big boxes. Fill the small ones. Two half-full boxes beat one that nobody can move. ## Where Should You Set Boxes Out in a Minneapolis Winter? The covered front porch is the right spot in Minneapolis: dry overhead, visible from the street, and out of the plow's reach. Nearly every house here has a second option, which is the alley garage. If your porch is exposed, set the boxes just inside the garage service door and note it when you schedule. Plows throw a wall of snow across the alley mouth after a storm, so if the alley has not been cleared, the porch wins. Snow emergencies move every car on the block. If one is called for your service day, the porch is still fine, and your Local Pick-Up Partner will work around it. ## Why Packing Tape Fails in Deep Cold Packing tape loses its grip in deep cold, because the adhesive goes brittle and a seam that held indoors lets go on the porch. The fix is simple. Double-tape every seam, top and bottom, and press it down hard while the box is still warm inside the house. Then carry it out. And set the box out the morning of your pickup, not the night before. A cardboard box on a snowy porch overnight is finished within the hour once wet snow starts falling. If you wonder why so much care goes into a donation that costs nothing, the [American Library Association's guide to book donation programs](https://libguides.ala.org/book-donations) is blunt about how much donated material arrives unusable. ## Do You Need to Sort Anything Before a Minneapolis Pickup? No sorting is needed before a Minneapolis pickup, since Give My Books Network partners sort everything offsite after collection. "Should I separate hardcovers from paperbacks?" Nope. "Do children's books go in a different bag?" They don't. "What about the DVDs and that crate of vinyl?" Same box is fine. Here is what partners do afterward. Many items are redistributed to schools, libraries, nonprofits, and literacy programs through the Give ME Books program, and some are resold, which is what funds the free pickup. Give My Books Network partners are family businesses rather than 501(c)(3) nonprofits, so no tax receipt is issued. ### Ready to schedule your free Minneapolis book pickup? We'll come to your door — no cost, no hassle. Book pickup, DVD pickup, large-quantity, estate, and more in Minneapolis, MN. Schedule Free Pickup Or browse all Minneapolis donation services including Textbook Donations , Doorstep Book Pickup , Estate Book Pickup . Not sure whether a pickup or a drop-off makes more sense for what you have? Our [where to donate books](/where-to-donate-books) guide walks through the decision honestly, including the cases where another organisation is the better fit. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Does the Local Pick-Up Partner bring boxes? ### How heavy should a box of books be? ### Where should I leave boxes in winter? ### Why does packing tape keep coming loose? ### Do I need to sort my books before pickup? ### What time do I need to set the boxes out? ## More from Minneapolis Learn More The best places to donate books in Minneapolis in 2026 Learn More Handling a large book collection in Minneapolis Learn More Donate old books, or let them go? A Minneapolis guide Service Textbook Donations in Minneapolis Service Doorstep Book Pickup in Minneapolis Service Estate Book Pickup in Minneapolis Back to Minneapolis Donation Services ## Find us in Minneapolis Our local Pick-Up Partners serve the Minneapolis area. If your exact address is inside our service area, you can book a doorstep pickup today. Loading map of Minneapolis, MN… ## Ready to clear your shelves? Join thousands of Minneapolis neighbors who have already donated their books through the Network. Schedule Free Pickup ![Give My Books Network Logo](/assets/gmbn-logo-BsMIhLrP.png) **America's Nationwide Community Book-Sharing Network.** Free book and media pickup service! Local Pick-Up Partners collect your donated books, CDs, DVDs, and media right from your doorstep. 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