Donations

Monetary Donations

For many years the Wichita Falls Public Library has accepted donations as memorials for the deceased, as well as to honor those who are still living.

Individual patrons and organizations have used this service by donating money ($25 or more) to purchase a book in honor of retirements, birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions. Patrons have also used the service to place a book in memory of a friend or relative, or even pets that have passed on.  Please click here for more information about the Pet Memorial Program.  The Library will send a letter of acknowledgement to the person or family of the deceased or person being honored.

Persons interested in giving a gift or donation to the library should contact the Administration Office at (940) 767-0868, ext. 228.  You may send checks with pertinent information to:

Book, Video, & Audio Book Donation FAQs

Q: What do you do with the items I donate to you?
When you donate books, you are actually donating books to the Friends of the Wichita Falls Public Library. Our Friends run our book sales through their Used Book Store. The money they earn at the Book Store is used to help the library. However, before the books or other items are turned over to the Friends, the library looks at the books and selects those items that fill gaps in our collection, and we add those items to our collection. So when you donate books, you are helping the library, whether we add the books to the collection or the Friends sell the books.

Q: Why don't you add everything you are given to your collection?
Any books that we choose to add to the collection must meet our regular selection criteria as outlined in our Collection Development Policy. Sometimes the donated item doesn't meet these criteria -- it may contain dated information, it may be in poor condition, or it may not meet the information needs of our community. Sometimes we have enough copies of the donated title, or enough information on the subject. If we can't use the item, we turn it over to the Friends who try to sell the item in the Book Store, or donate it to others who have use for the item (prisons, schools, doctor's offices, other libraries).

Q: Can I get a receipt for the items I donate?
We are not able to quote a value for the items you give us, but upon request the Library Assistants at the Circulation Desk will give you a receipt for the number of items donated and the date of donation. 

Q: What kinds of items do you like to receive?
Most importantly, we like to receive current titles in excellent condition. Titles in poor condition do not hold up to library processing and circulation (think of the book drops!) These are the things we love to get: 
Current and former bestsellers in excellent condition, both fiction and nonfiction 
Hardback classics in excellent condition 
Fiction paperbacks in like-new condition 
Children's titles in good condition (sell well!) 
Really, really new unmarked textbooks (published in the last 3 years) 
Historical material related to Wichita Falls and surrounding communities
Yearbooks from local schools
Unabridged audio recordings, both fiction and nonfiction 
Business and language audiotapes 
Feature films from the last year -- purchased, not copied, with covers in good condition 
Compact Discs

Q: What kinds of items can't you use? 
Please do not bring us:
Items in poor condition -- yellow pages, highlighted text, mildew odor 
Textbooks more than three years old 
Encyclopedias of any age 
Back issues or runs of magazines 
Condensed books 
Dated nonfiction 

We can't add these items to our collection, and from experience we know that people won't buy them at the book sales. This means that if you are bringing them to us because you don't have the heart to discard them, we just discard them for you, and you've wasted all that energy lugging the stuff to the library. It's OK to discard books that have lived the good life, given you pleasure, but are no longer in demand or useful! Really. 

Q: What do you do with items that are left over after the Friends Book Sale?
Whatever items the Friends can't sell at the Book Store, they donate to other agencies that have use for the item --  schools, doctor's offices, non-profit organizations, other libraries.

Q: Where do I bring my donations?
Bring your donations to the Circulation Desk of the Library.