Give Books

GIVE YOUR BOOKS A SECOND LIFE

Every year, we source, process, and distribute millions of free, high-quality books to children who need them most, providing each child from birth to grade six with eight free, high-quality books to read, love, and call their own. In every bag of eight books we pack for children, there’s one special book donated by someone in the community.

Used books from the community provide variety, sustainability, and a way to make every bag of books feel personal. Ready to help? Donate books at Bernie’s Book Bank locations, Book Drop Partners, or if your donation exceeds 500+ books, contact us, and we will schedule a pickup. Thank you for passing it on with a purpose.

James (a smiling kid) sits amongst boxes and bags of hundreds of donated books
volunteers load boxes of books into a Bernie's truck parked in a sunlit parking lot; the side of the truck reads: books can change the story

GUIDELINES FOR BOOK DONATIONS

Books We Use:

New and gently used children’s books (birth through sixth grade reading level), including: fiction, non-fiction, picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, mysteries, science fiction, sports, art, science, technology, and more.

Books We Don’t Use:

Books with excessively yellowed pages, books for adults, outdated non-fiction books, activity books, cookbooks, dictionaries/reference, partially used sticker books, and religious books. The books we are giving to children are meant to be loved and last, please only donate books of good quality.

FIND A BOOK DROP PARTNER

With nearly 100 Book Drop Partners, we are making it even easier to give your beloved books a second life. Whether you’re donating a single book, cleaning off a shelf, or contributing a box of books, every book donated is passed on with purpose, spreading the power of book ownership to children who need it most.

Skip Book Drop Locations Map

HOST A BOOK DRIVE

Hosting a book drive is as easy as 1 – 2 – 3, and a fun way to rally your school, workplace, neighborhood, or community around a shared purpose.

1. Register Your Book Drive – A Bernie’s Book Bank representative will reach out to you to help you get started.

2. Get Your Toolkit – Download all the tools you need to invite people to participate and maximize your impact.

3. Collect Books and Make an Impact

START A BOOK DRIVE
HOST A VIRTUAL BOOK DRIVE
a sandwich board in a parking lot advertises a Bernie's Book drive
an adult and child smile in front of a large bin of donated picture books

VOLUNTEER HOURS FOR BOOKS

Looking for service hours? Collect and donate 100 new or gently used children’s books to Bernie’s Book Bank and receive two hours of community service credit.

LEARN MORE

NEED A DONATION RECEIPT?

Thank you for passing on your books with a purpose.

DONATION RECEIPT

BOOK DONATION FAQs

We accept new and gently used children’s books for children from birth through sixth grade reading level. We love them all — fiction, non-fiction, chapter books, picture books, and everything in between. Whatever your children love to read is what our children love to read. However, we don’t distribute textbooks, dictionaries, activity books, coloring books, reference material, or religious books. Above all, please remember that the books we are giving to children are meant to be loved and last; only donate books of good quality.

Donate books at Bernie’s Book Bank locations, search for your nearest Book Drop Partner, or if your donation exceeds 500+ books, contact us, and we will schedule a pickup.

Every book drop location has different hours of operation. The best plan is to confirm the hours the location is open before driving over to drop off books.

Yes, you can fill out a book donation receipt request.

Every child we serve receives eight books per year! Once your generous donation is received at the Bernie’s Book Bank processing center, volunteers sticker, sort, and bag them for distribution to children who need them most. Learn more about volunteering.

All volunteer shifts require a reservation. Volunteering sessions open up two months in advance. If you are looking to register a group of 3 or more from separate households, please fill out a Group Request Form. If you are a family looking to volunteer together, please see our instructions on how to add children’s profiles to your volunteer account here. Schedule a volunteer shift.

No books to donate? No problem, at Bernie’s Book Bank, we source, process, and distribute free, high-quality books to children who need them most for less than $2.00 a book. Consider making a $16.00 gift to support a child with eight books for the year, or join our Giving Tree Society with a gift of $24.00 a month to support an entire classroom with books for the year. No matter the size of your gift, your impact is immediate and meaningful. Make a gift here.

Have More Questions?

GENERAL FAQS VOLUNTEER FAQS BOOK DISTRIBUTION FAQS

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