Book Donation Guide

What Happens to Your Books After You Donate

Once your books reach the front desk, they are not placed straight onto the shelves. Library staff review each donation to decide where it can be most useful. Some titles fill gaps in the existing collection, replace worn copies of popular books, or add a second copy of something that is often on loan. Others may be better suited to reading corners, school partnerships or community exchange shelves. Libraries everywhere work this way, because shelf space is limited and every item added to the collection has to be catalogued, labelled and maintained.

Because of this selection process, we cannot promise that every donated book will end up in the lending collection. We hope donors understand that a book which is not added to the catalogue can still find a good reader elsewhere. If you would like to see what the library already holds before deciding what to bring, you can search the catalogue first.

Tips for preparing a donation

• Check the condition carefully. Flick through each book and look for loose pages, water damage, heavy underlining or a musty smell. Books stored in damp cellars often carry mould that can spread to other materials.
• Think about relevance. Outdated travel guides, computer manuals and old encyclopaedias are rarely useful to readers, even if they look new.
• Keep sets together. If you are donating a series or a multi-volume work, bundle the volumes so staff can assess them as a whole.
• Remove personal items. Bookmarks, letters, photographs and receipts are often left between pages. Check before you hand books over.
• Use sturdy bags or boxes that are easy to carry, and avoid packing them too heavily.

Books of local interest

Works by authors from Pljevlja and the wider region, local history, older publications in Montenegrin and neighbouring languages, and material about the town's cultural life can be especially valuable to a municipal library. If you own items like these, particularly older or rare editions, please get in touch through the contact page before bringing them in, so staff can advise on how best to handle and preserve them.

Donating is only one way to support the library. Taking part in our programmes and encouraging friends and family to become members helps keep reading alive in the community too.