How can I help?

• Become a Volunteer Book Sorter: Learn how to sort, research and price donated materials. Call 291-4800 or write to booksales@westportlibrary.org
  
  
• Help Place Signs: Prior to each Book Sale, we place signs at specific locations around town to advertise the book sales.  We are looking for a people to help place the signs before the book sale and pick them up after the book sale.  If you are interested in helping place/pickup the signs, please contact Lucy Ambrosino at lambro2@yahoo.com.
  
• Join the Friends: Book donations are only a part of our many activities. Your membership contribution supports over 800 programs per year, the Library Store, the children’s summer reading program, book club purchases, special events, technology and the library’s collection. Print a membership form or complete a membership envelope at the Library.
  Your donation of books and other materials is always welcome.
  
  The Friends of the Westport Library, a volunteer organization, receive and process about 80,000 items for sale each year. Book sale income helps support the Westport Library’s programs, projects, and collection.
  
  When and where can I donate?
  
  The Library accepts books at the circulation desk any time the Library is open. Staff members may be available to help you with your donation. If you have a large collection and need help, a volunteer may be able to pick up your donation. Call 291-4800.
  
  What kinds of items can I donate?
  
  Here are some suggestions. If you are not sure what to donate or have questions, call 291-4800.

• Books – all kinds, any subject: fiction and non-fiction, hard cover and paperback, and especially recent books, teen and children’s books
• Music scores, CD’s, DVD’s, and commercial cassette tapes and videos
• Software- less than three years old
• Recent encyclopedias
• Collectible vintage magazines
• All vintage printed materials that may have collectible appeal.

Can I get a donation letter for tax purposes?

Yes. The Westport Public Library is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. If you would like a donation receipt, ask the person who accepts your donation. The Library cannot place a value on your donation, but can indicate the number of items donated.

Where do the unsold books go after a book sale?  
 
On the last day of each sale, all books are offered free.  Prior to every sale we mail post cards containing date, time and featured sale items to over 700 not for profit agencies and organizations, schools and libraries. At each sale we have cards for the public to complete for inclusion in future mailings.
 
Some examples of the organizations who have benefited from this free day include prisons, women's domestic violence centers, women's shelters, inner city juvenile detention centers, pre-schools, special care homes for children, inner city schools, inner city libraries, etc. People have gathered books to send off to Africa, India, Russia and the Philippines. Specifically one person carefully boxed up 18 cartons of books to send one to each prison in Connecticut. Another person who teaches in a community college in New Haven collected books to give as rewards to her students.
 
At the end of the sale if there are still any books remaining, all books and cardboard are collected by Pro Quo Books who in turn at their warehouses review the books to be placed in other needy areas and/or recycle paper and cardboard.  
 
After a 4 day sale it is rewarding to know that thousands of books have found good homes.