Book Drive Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in promoting preschool literacy by Giving Reading Opportunities to children! Our Adopted Book Center program is designed to put books in the hands of children who might not otherwise have access to them. It is our hope these children will build their own home libraries and that their parents will spend time reading aloud to them from the books that your organization donates. Together we can create and sustain a community of readers who are prepared to meet the challenges of school.

As you prepare for your book drive, we hope that you will find this guide useful. Be assured that each book donated will find a home, and that your donations are greatly appreciated.

Why is this work important?

On average, children in economically poor communities have 1-2 age-appropriate books in their homes.

Nationally, only 39% of parents read to their children regularly.

The home environment, specifically the availability of reading material, is a stronger predictor of later academic achievement than socio-economic status.

There is almost a 90% probability that a child will remain a poor reader at the end of fourth grade, if the child is a poor reader at the end of first grade.

What kind of books do you want? 

Hardcover or paperback picture books with brightly colored pictures and interesting stories are ideal. Our focus is on books for children between the ages of 6 months to 5 years.

Please discard or give away any books that are not appropriate to donate:

• Books with torn or missing pages or covers.
• Books with writing in them, with the exception of a name or brief inscription
• Textbooks, encyclopedias, magazines
• Comic books, or used activity books

How should we organize our book drive? 

1. Collecting the books

• Establish a book collection or drop-off site
• Check boxes regularly and empty boxes when they are ¾ full to prevent overflow and possible damage to books

 2. Storing the books

• Be sure to collect plenty of sturdy boxes for storing the books
• Find an indoor location in which to store books during the drive that is dry and temperature controlled

 3. Publicize

• Create fliers, posters, and other materials to promote your book drive
• Make sure to include an ending date for donations, where to bring the books, and guidelines about the condition and type of books wanted

 4. Transporting the books

• Set up transport for books from collection site to storage and from storage to delivery to the Richmond Library.
• Label boxes of donated books “For Adopted Book Centers”
• Call ahead for hours of operation if you are unsure when the library is open.

What about donations of money?

Sometimes people who don’t have books to donate want to make a financial contribution instead. If you decide to collect monetary donations as well as books, please make your final check payable to the Richmond Memorial Library with “Adopted Book Center” as a notation.