What Is the Community Book-Sharing Program in Washington, DC?

Give My Books Network is a nationwide community book-sharing network with a local face in Washington, DC. Books are collected free from doorsteps by a Local Pick-Up Partner, sorted offsite, and redistributed to organizations that ask for them through the Give ME Books program.

The idea is unglamorous and it works. Books leave houses where they are finished being read. They arrive in rooms where somebody is waiting to start.

How Does Give My Books Network Support the DC Community Book-Sharing Program?

Give My Books Network handles the two hard parts: collection and sorting. Donors in Mount Pleasant, Park View, and everywhere else pack a box and set it on the stoop; a Local Pick-Up Partner does the rest, at no cost to anyone in the chain.

Some items are resold by the partner, and that resale is what funds the vehicle, the fuel, and the hours. The rest of the model is straightforward. Donors declutter for free, partners earn, and readers gain affordable books. Everybody wins, and nobody is asked to write a check.

Little Free Libraries in Mount Pleasant and Park View

Little Free Libraries are the visible half of this city's community book-sharing program, and they run dry constantly. A well-used box on a corner near Rock Creek Park turns over its whole stock in a week, and the neighbor who built it is quietly restocking it out of pocket.

Keep a small stack aside for the box on your block. Send the rest through a pickup. A Little Free Library holds a dozen books at a time; it is not a home for the fourteen boxes in your hallway.

Where to Donate Books to Washington, DC Schools and Libraries

Schools, libraries, and nonprofits request titles directly through the Give ME Books program rather than receiving whatever shows up. Requests come in from Title I classrooms, ESL programs, after-school tutoring, senior centers, shelters, and prison literacy programs, and Local Pick-Up Partners fill them from what they have collected and sorted.

Who Can Request Books Through Give ME Books?

Any school, library, nonprofit, literacy program, community center, or homeschool family can request books through the Give ME Books program. Requests are filled from what Local Pick-Up Partners have on hand, which changes week to week.

What nobody will tell you is that a particular donated box lands in a particular classroom. Books are sorted by condition and demand, not routed by sentiment. The American Library Association's page on book donation programs is a good reality check on how book redistribution actually works, and it is worth reading before you assume otherwise.

How Do I Add My Books to the Network?

Enter your ZIP code on the Give My Books Network site, choose a service day, pack the books, and set them out by 8 AM. A Local Pick-Up Partner collects between 8 AM and 8 PM, and you do not need to be home for any of it.

• Pack into boxes or sturdy bags. The partner does not bring boxes.
• Keep every container light enough for one person to carry.
• Do not sort. Books and media can share a box.
• Cover the cardboard if rain is anywhere in the forecast.

What the Program Does Not Promise

Not every book is donated, and not every book stays in Washington, DC. Some items are resold by Local Pick-Up Partners to keep the free pickup running, and items that cannot be reused may eventually be recycled as a last resort.

There is also no tax receipt, because Give My Books Network and its partners are locally owned family businesses rather than 501(c)(3) nonprofits. What you do get is a three-click review at the end of every pickup, a public rating that follows each partner, and a Top Giver badge for the ones who earn it.