Library Foundation

Please consider supporting the library!  The Mitchellville Public Library is fortunate enough to have a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the Mitchellville Library Foundation, securing funds to enhance library materials, programs, services, and capital improvements.  The Mitchellville Library Foundation has its own board of directors who work in conjunction with library administration to determine goals for fundraising, advocacy, and volunteer services.

Your support for the library will strengthen and expand our mission to serve everyone in our service area. Your support is requested for outreach programs, collections, and special projects. Your support will demonstrate your appreciation for and understanding of the value in a civilized society of access to information

Ways to Donate to the Library

There are many ways you can donate to and help the library. 

BOOK DONATIONS

Currently, we are NOT taking book donations due to COVID-19. When we start taking book donations again, we will post an update to this website, social media, and the Advocate. 

Please do not leave donated books in the book drop or in bags or boxes outside. They will be disposed of. 

When we resume accepting book donations, we have some guidelines to follow so that we aren't overwhelmed with lots of books we cannot use. 

When we receive book donations, we usually receive several boxes that people have cleaned out of their garage, basement, attic, etc. Most often, these books are decades old and dirty, dusty and moldy. While we appreciate the thought, these donations create a lot of extra work for volunteers and staff. The books must be gone through one by one to check for the condition. If they are dirty, moldy, very yellowed pages, writing in the book, we cannot keep the book. We also look at the copyright dates. If the book is over 5 years old, generally we will not keep it. There are a few exceptions to this, such as if it is considered a classic book. We also look at the condition of the cover and spine. If the book looks old, we cannot use it. If the spine is broken, the book needs to be discarded. We also cannot take encyclopedias, any book with dated material such as Farmers Almanac, computer books, textbooks, and so forth. Anything where the information changes frequently, we don't take. 

Once books are gone through to check for condition, we then have to check against our system to see if we already have the books. This also takes a considerable amount of staff time. If the book is in good condition, and we don't have it in our library and we feel it would get read by our patrons, we then need to take time to process the books. 

Unfortunately, a large percentage of books that get donated get recycled. 

When we start taking books again, we will gladly take newer hardcover books that are within a year or two of publication if we don't already have the book.  

MONETARY DONATIONS

Due to having a small operating budget, we greatly appreciate monetary donations. It doesn't have to be a lot - every dollar counts. We use donations to purchase supplies for the library, new books, and pay for costs related to programs offered through the library. 

SUPPLY DONATIONS

Another easy way you can donate to the library is to donate supplies we use every day, such as: 

Reams of printer paper

Address labels that we use to label our books (Avery 5160 is the specific label we use)

Pens

Scotch tape for Tape dispensers

Red paper folders for our 1000 Books Before Kindergarten to hold the paperwork in.

Check with the library for other ideas.