Fresno County Public Library Gift Policy
The Fresno County Public Library is pleased to accept gifts for the library’s collection. Gift materials provide the library with additional copies of popular materials, as well as supplying unique materials of interest to the community.
Gift additions must meet the same selection criteria as purchased materials and are subject to the following limitations:
- Upon receipt, donated materials become the unconditional property of Fresno County Public Library. Donated materials may or may not be added to the collection.
- The library makes the final decision on the use or other disposition of gifts.
- The library does not return any gift materials to the donor.
- The library reserves the right to decide the conditions of display, housing, and access to the materials. The donor may request that materials be assigned to a particular branch, but the library has the final authority.
Needed Materials
The library will accept for evaluation gift materials only in designated areas as listed below. All gifts must be in excellent physical condition.
- Bestsellers published within the last 2 years
- Fiction and non-fiction published in the last 2 years
- Materials by local authors and/or of local interest
- Classic works of fiction
- Children’s hardcover books
- Unabridged CD audio books
- Music CDs (bestsellers, CDs released in the past year, CDs by local artists)
- DVDs (no previous rental copies)
- Video games for the Wii, Nintendo DS, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, or Xbox 360 (no previous rental copies or games rated Mature-M)
- Materials from presenters or performers at library programs
- Materials in languages other than English
To donate materials to the Fresno County Public Library, contact your local branch library to make arrangements to deliver donations. No materials should be left at library doors or outside when buildings are closed.
For tax purposes, a donor receipt stating the number of items accepted may be given by the library at the request of the donor at the time of donation only. The library makes no statement as to the value of any item, nor will staff sign any IRS forms. All donors are encouraged to consult tax literature, the IRS website or tax advisors for information on assigning monetary values for a charitable tax deduction.
Financial Gifts
Monetary donations are welcomed by the library. Donors of monetary funds may suggest subjects or titles to be acquired with their donation, but the library reserves the right of final decision.
Non-needed Materials
While the Library greatly appreciates donations by the public, due to space limitations, the financial and staff cost of processing some materials, and selection criteria, the following materials can not be accepted at this time:
- Magazines and newspapers
- Textbooks and workbooks
- Fiction and Non-fiction older than 3 years, unless of local interest
- Spiral bound books or notebooks
- Condensed books, Readers’ Digest books, and book club editions
- Damaged, brittle and/or yellowed materials
- Audio cassettes
- Music CDs that are boxed sets, singles, or promotional copies
- LP or vinyl records
- Video (VHS) tapes
- Games (computer games or board games)
- Calendars
- Discarded materials from any other library system or from schools and previous rental copies
For those materials the Fresno County Public Library is unable to accept, ask your local branch library about local Friends of the Library book sale needs. The Friends of the Library is a 501 (c)(3), 509 (a)(1) and 170 (b)(1)(A)(6) organization.
