Material Donation Guidelines

Salinas Public Library accepts donations of new or gently used materials to support and enhance the library collection. All donations become the property of Salinas Public Library. Librarians will determine whether the donated material will be added to the library collection or given to the Friends of the Salinas Public Library (FOSPL).  FOSPL sells its items at the Friends Bookshop and the proceeds benefit the Library.

For donations larger than 25 items: Please call the library at (831) 758-7311 to schedule a drop-off appointment at the John Steinbeck Library. 

Please review the following guidelines before bringing your donation to the library. Any donation that does not meet the guidelines may not be accepted by library staff or will be disposed of at the library’s discretion.

We will accept:

• Hardcover and paperback books in good condition. We cannot accept damaged books (e.g. torn pages, broken bindings, soiled, markings or writing on text, musty or moldy).
• Commercially published media, such as music CDs, DVDs, or Blu-ray discs.

We will not accept:

• Magazines (including National Geographic, Reader’s Digest, Life, Look, etc.).
• Encyclopedias (of any kind or any publication year).
• Textbooks.
• Any reference materials, including price guides, travel guides, test preparation guides, or medical/financial/computer books that are more than 5 years old.
• Non-commercially published or homemade media.
• VHS or cassette tapes.
• Any materials in damaged condition, including items with broken bindings, smoke or water damage, missing pages, writings or markings, or soiled.

Please do not leave donations outside the building or in the library's book return bins. Donated items left outside of the library building will be disposed of or recycled.

We thank you for your generous donation to the Salinas Public Library.