In Which I Donate

So, I delivered another batch of fresh books to my local public library again today. The last--and first--time I donated was back in December, when I gave them 5 books, among which were doubles I had of Ice by Sarah Beth Durst, Ash by Malinda Lo, and Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. I knew I had done the right thing when I saw the librarians' eyes widen and gleam as they pored through the meager titles I had given. One of them picked up Sarah Beth's book and exclaimed, "Oh! I just submitted the next list of titles I wanted to buy for our collection, and I really wanted this one but ended up not being able to put it on the list due to budget constraints." Well, you can imagine how happy that made me feel! It took them over two months to process the books and finally put them in circulation (I know this because, uh, I checked like a fanatic). I don't know why it took so long--is that normal? I hope not. Any librarians know how I might be able to help speed up the process?

Today, I donated the following books:

The Wish Stealers by Tracy Trivas
The Sweet Life of Stella Madison by Stella Zeises
Very LeFreak by Rachel Cohn
Dream Life by Lauren Mechling
The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg
The Ever Breath by Julianna Baggott
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers

The library in my local town has always been extremely small, without the added benefit of a generous town budget towards investing in teens' interests like the public library in the next, more working-class town over has. I've found that most of the books I requested via interlibrary loan tend to come from outside my own public library; mine is unable to buy very many new releases, a shock to me after over a decade of being spoiled by the gorgeous and extensive library in my hometown. Now, with all the access I've been getting to new books and book-loving people, I cherish any opportunity I get to give someone else--a version of a younger me, perhaps?--the joy of finding new and varied reads to get lost in.

So I encourage you to do the same! It's super easy to do: here's no need to keep a book around if you think you won't read it again, learn from it, or care about it. Not even if you received a signed copy of a book, for example. I'm much happier knowing that these books will be available for other readers to love. It's a good feeling, and really builds a sense of community between readers, bloggers, and libraries that I'd like to see and help grow in the future. Try it out for yourself!