The Literacy Council has suspended book donations at this time. When we resume we will update this page and make an announcement via our social media channels.
Thank you.
Do you have gently used books you would like to donate to The Literacy Council? See below for our book donation guidelines and additional information.
Books accepted by The Literacy Council:
- Best sellers
- Fiction
- Non-Fiction
- Mystery
- Science Fiction
- Romance
- How-to
- Cookbooks
- Self-help
- Bibles and other inspirational books
- Clean copies of classic titles
- Children’s books in new or good condition including bi-lingual books (ex. Spanish/English)
- Condensed books
- Dictionaries
The Literacy Council is unable to accept:
- Magazines including religious tracts, etc.
- Record albums, CD’s, tapes
- VHS tapes and DVDs
- Encyclopedias
- Textbooks
- Books in poor condition:
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- Mildewed or wet
- Missing or loose pages
- Torn pages
- Missing or loose binding
- Handwriting on content
- Children’s books with crayon marks, stickers missing
Donations can be dropped off at The Literacy Council’s office between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday – Friday or by appointment. Please contact Danielle Tipton to make an appointment for delivery – dtipton@literacy-council.org, 205-326-1925.
Please bring your donations in small boxes or bags that can be easily carried. Donated items are evaluated with care and we have only limited storage space to store materials while they wait to be processed.
At your request, TLC will provide you with a letter of receipt that you may fill out for tax purposes. TLC staff does not determine the value of your donation. It will be up to you to assign a value for tax purposes.
What does The Literacy Council do with my book donations?
Literacy! Reading! That’s what we’re all about! Our books are for everyone to enjoy. Perhaps you’ve stopped by our office on 1st Avenue North to peruse our in-house library or the book cart outside of our office.
In addition to our in-house library and book cart, we give away books at community events throughout the year. In 2013 and 2014 we gave away thousands of books at events like Project Homeless Connect and the Woodlawn Community Fair. Additionally, we help build libraries in facilities that don’t have them: prisons, homeless shelters, etc.
We ask that our friends limit the number of books they take at one time to no more than three.
What can I do with materials TLC cannot accept?
There are a number of recycling centers in the area. Below are a few that we suggest.