Donation Procedures:
We don’t accept damaged books. That includes books with mold, mildew, water or smoke damage.
What Items Do you Accept?
We gratefully accept the following items, when they are in good condition:
- Adult hardcover fiction or nonfiction
- Children’s picture books or chapter books
- Teen chapter books or nonfiction
- Graphic novels
- DVDs & Blu-Rays
- CDs
- Gently used puzzles with all their pieces and undamaged boxes
We regret that we are unable to accept the following items:
- Any books with mold, mildew, markings, water damage or that smell of smoke
- Adult paperbacks
- Magazines (though we have a magazine exchange rack at our Main Branch)
- Textbooks
- Any reference books, including encyclopedias
- Board books
- Maps or travel books
- Games
- Electronic devices
- VHS, Beta, cassettes, 8-tracks or vinyl
How do I donate?
We have a donation box outside of our Main Branch at 8215 Mentor Ave., Mentor. If your donation is more than one box, please call ahead at (440) 255-8811.
Due to space and staffing constraints, we ask that you not leave your donations at our other branch sites.
I have an old book, map, or piece of ephemera. Would the library be interested?
If you have items of historical significance that pertain specifically to Mentor, contact our Reference Manager at (440) 255-8811 ext. 219. If the item is otherwise related to Lake County history, consider contacting Morley Public Library at (440) 352-3383.
Will I get a tax receipt?
While we do not assign a value to donations, we do supply forms that you can complete yourself to document your material donations for tax purposes.
Other Information
If you have books that you wish to share, you can also drop them off at the many Little Free Libraries throughout the community.*
Mentor Public Library is responsible for the initial review or screening of all donated materials brought to the library or otherwise donated for the Friends of the Library Book Sale. Materials which upon receipt are found to be too deteriorated for use or sale will be discarded immediately. All donated items remain the property of the Library until they are discarded, recycled, sold at a presale or sale, or given to a charity by the Library. A designated staff member or members may select books and other materials for the Library’s collections or programs in accordance with the Library’s established selection policy, or for use by Library staff in their programming activities, and at the staff member’s discretion, may also select materials to offer to other area libraries for their collections. Pre-screening, review or sale of the items for personal use or for the use of any other persons, agencies or institutions will not be permitted. Any materials not selected through this pre-screening process by the designated library staff members will be stored for the book sale. As the items are being sorted and readied for sale, designated Library staff may pull items for inclusion into the Library’s collection or programming activities.
The Friends of the Library Board may authorize the sale of books and related materials to FOL book sale volunteers and library employees during the sorting process before the book sale.
Upon request, the Friends of the Library may also authorize specific persons, agencies, or institutions for charitable purpose, to select materials at no cost for their collections during the sale. Disposal of the remaining books after the book sale should be timely with regard to accommodating the space designated for storage purposes.
For Gift and Memorial Donations, please see brochure linked below.