Gift Policy

The Stanislaus County Library is a public library system consisting of one (1) main library and twelve (12) branches. With a diverse collection that reflects all points of views, the library maintains carefully-chosen materials to encourage lifelong learning and the love of reading. Gift materials must meet the same criteria as purchased materials. The collection development policy is posted on the library website: (www.stanislauslibrary.org). Click on “About Us,” then click on “Policies and Guidelines.” The emphasis is on acquiring current materials of wide-ranging interest to the general public (except local and historical materials).

Gift Books

Library staff evaluates donations by the age and condition of the books, the customer needs for the specific titles, the intended audience, and other factors. If they meet the selection criteria according to the library collection development policy, they will be added to the collection. Other donations are sold throughout the libraries or donated to Friends of the Library groups.

Popular mass market paperbacks in good condition are accepted and may be circulated on an honor basis. This is a popular service for customers who purchase and read large quantities of fiction paperback series and wish to share them.

If you purchased a copy of the latest bestseller and finished reading, we encourage you to donate it to the library. You are helping the entire community by donating your book.

Gifts of Videos, DVDs, and Audio Books

Due to the difficulties in evaluating the condition of the donation, these must be previewed before being placed in the collection. Because of the amount of staff time it requires, only new items still in their shrink-wrapping are accepted. These must also meet the criteria listed in the collection development policy.

Gifts of Magazines

The library is unable to use gifts of back issues of magazines because of space limitations. Some back issues on microfilm are maintained and the library subscribes to an online magazine database that offers full text of many publications.

All materials donated to the Stanislaus County Library become the property of the library. The library does not value the price of the donations. It is the responsibility of the donors to do so for tax purposes. The library will provide a receipt of number of items donated (i.e., 5 boxes) upon request.

January 8, 2015