FOSL Book Donation Processing Explained

We accept book, magazine, music CD, movie DVD, and puzzle donations at the Smyrna Public Library Circulation Desk during business hours.  Here is some information on how we process book donations and realize the maximum value of your gift:

Step 1: Donated books are first reviewed to see if they can be added to the library’s collection as a new title.  Other popular books are saved for future use as replacements for worn, lost or damaged books.  The donated books in this photo would have cost almost $20,000 to purchase.

Step 2:   If a book cannot be added to the collection, it is then reviewed to determine if it can be used as a reading prize.  Hundreds of books are awarded to kids & teens each year.  The Friends of Smyrna Library also provides funds to purchase additional reading prize books when needed.  Some books are used to stock the “Little Library” book boxes in City of Smyrna Parks.   

Step 3: All other books are sorted for sale with the proceeds benefitting the library.  Some books will be priced for our FOSL Bookstore which holds up to 500 books.  It’s on the way to the meeting room on the left. It’s open every day the library is open and cash, PayPal & Venmo are accepted for payment.  Most items are only 75 cents or $1.  Magazines are only 10 cents each.  

We price, box, and store the rest of the high-quality books (up to 90 boxes) for the meeting room book sales like the big sale last weekend.  Books that don’t sell at the big book sales get a second (and third) chance in the FOSL bookstore.

Step 4:  Books that do not sell in the book sales or bookstore will eventually be put in occasional Atrium Pop-Up Sale for 25 cents to $1.  Most (75% to 95%) of the books in Pop-Up Sales usually sell.

Step 5: If a book does not sell after multiple attempts, it goes in the green bin in the parking lot.  The company that manages the book bin pays us when the bin is full.  

Please do not put your donations in the green bin.  Take them to the Circulation Desk in the library during business hours.  We do not have access to the green bin and cannot realize the value of your donation if placed in it.

Step 6:  Any received books that are damaged or soiled are sent to paper recycling, not the solid waste landfill.

Thanks for your donations!