Friends of the Chatham Community Library

Book Sale General Information

The Friends are NOT accepting donations of books and audio-visual materials (CDs, DVDs, etc.) until after our September Book Sale. Please join us for the sale on September 18-20 and check back after to arrange donations.

The Friends of the Library welcomes donations of gently used books and audio/video materials for our book sales. Our semi-annual sales, held in the Spring and Fall, raise about $30,000 each year for the benefit of the library. Our volunteers sort thousands of items for each sale. All proceeds from the Sales benefit the library by enabling the purchase of new books, materials and equipment, new children’s programs; and, by improving technology and services. Some donated books may be added to the Library collection.

We sincerely appreciate the ongoing support of the library that your donations and your purchases at our sales represent. Your donations provide reasonably-priced books to people in our community and business opportunities for some of our customers. Most donated items are included in our sales; however, at the discretion of the library staff, some donations may be added to the library collection.

To assure the ongoing success and quality of our sales, and safety in the library, we request that donors follow the guidelines below:

Items we ACCEPT:

Hardcover and soft cover fiction and non-fiction books.
Large print books.
Foreign language books and audio-visual materials.
CDs, DVDs and audio books on CD.
Vinyl LP records.

Items we DO NOT ACCEPT:

Magazines, except very old collectibles.
Encyclopedia sets.
Textbooks.
Reader’s Digest Books.
Music or books on audio cassettes.
VHS videos.
Puzzles and games.
Artwork.
Books more than five years old in these categories: computer, health, education and travel.
Items that have highlighting, underlining, or notes written into the margins.

Please make sure books and other items are CLEAN and IN GOOD CONDITION.

Volunteers must discard or recycle any books that are in poor condition, dirty, dusty, mildewed or water damaged. This also includes books with folded pages/ dog ears, highlights and/or writing on the pages. Please save us time and effort and protect the library environment by carefully inspecting your books before you donate them.
For books that do not meet our standards, please note that the Chatham County Recycling Centers accept books at the "Sharing Shacks" or for paper recycling.

How to make donations:

Donations can be delivered to the Chatham Community Library circulation desk anytime the library is open. Please do not count on the availability of library staff to help you bring in your donations. On Tuesday mornings from 9 am to 11 am, volunteers are usually available to help.
Please respect our library staff and do not leave donations outside the library or in the library Book Return bins when it is closed.
For large donations or special collections, please contact us at contact@friendsccl.org to have a volunteer meet you at the library to accept the donation and help you unload. We no longer pick up collections away from the Library.
Due to space limitations, we may need to limit donations a few weeks before each sale. Please call during these times to see if we can accept donations.
If possible, please use double-bagged grocery bags with handles for donations (we can re-use the bags for bag day at our sales).

Are non-monetary donations tax-deductible?

The Friends of the Chatham Community Library is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and your donation is tax-deductible as a charitable contribution to the extent allowed by law. A receipt indicating the quantity of items donated will be provided upon request. Please note that all donations are final and become the property of the Friends of the Library when they are accepted. Donors are responsible for determining the value of their donations prior to delivery.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT & COOPERATION!