Donations
We appreciate your interest in supporting the San Diego County Library through a donation. Please see the FAQ below that most closely matches the type of donation you’d like to make.
Monetary Donations
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Thank you for your interest in supporting the San Diego County Library. Monetary donations can be submitted at any SDCL branch or by mailing a check to:Matching Funds DonationsSan Diego County Library5560 Overland Ave. Ste. 110San Diego, CA 92123SDCL has a Matching Funds program generously supported by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. Matching Funds donations are used to purchase items for the circulating collection, including books, DVDs, eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, and more. The Matching Funds Program doubles your donation, allowing you to make an even bigger impact on the library’s buying power. Donations made by individuals, organizations, and businesses between July 1 and April 30 will be matched, until funding runs out.
Book & DVD Donations
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The San Diego County Library is no longer able to accept physical donations of materials for the collection, with the exception of items produced by local authors or musicians.
SDCL purchases materials at steep discounts that come with labels, barcodes, and covers, ready for customer use. It costs more for the library to accept a donation and prepare it for circulation, than it does for the library to purchase a new item, prepared for circulation by our vendors. If you would like to support the library’s collection, we encourage you to donate funds for the purchase of physical and digital materials for our communities.
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If you are looking for an organization to accept donations of your books, DVDs, CDs, audiobooks, or magazines, consider contacting one of the organizations below:
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Your Branch Friends of the Library
Many branch Friends of the Library groups accept book donations for their book sales. Please check their websites or phone ahead to ensure that your donation can be accepted at this time. Items donated to the Friends of the Library are sold to support San Diego County Library branch collections and events. -
Salvation Army (books, DVDs, CDs)
1-800-728-7825 -
Goodwill (books, DVDs, CDs)
1-800-GOODWILL -
Amvets (books, DVDs, CDs)
877-990-8387 -
Vietnam Veterans of America (books, DVDs, CDs)
877-775-8387 -
Father Joe’s Villages (books, DVDs, CDs – limit 5 boxes):
1-800-HOMELESS -
Kids Need to Read (like-new kids’ books – no scribbles or visible damage)
480-256-0115 -
Bridge to Asia (books)
510-665-3998 - You can also recycle books and magazines in your recycle bins, particularly if they are damaged or outdated.
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Your Branch Friends of the Library
Local & Self-Published Author Donations
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SDCL collects a variety of books and media that are written, published and/or produced locally. We are now accepting submissions of physical copies of locally produced books, DVDs and/or music CDs for review. To submit your item for consideration, print out a copy of the Local/Self-Published Author Donation Form and drop it off with one copy of your work at any of San Diego County Library's branches. This document also contains information about the library's selection process.
