Conducting a Successful Book Drive

Step One: Plan

  1. Know Your Audience
    • Age Group
    • Geographic Location
    • Type of Organization/Event
  2. Book Distribution
    • Will you be collecting books for the Early Literacy Program (ELP) to distribute to multiple quality programs?
      • OR
    • Will you be collecting books to donate to a particular organization on your own?
  3. Accepting Donations
    • Will you accept monetary donations that go toward the purchase of books? With monetary donations, programs can choose the books that are most appropriate.
  4. Size
    • What resources will you need to support the size of your intended organization/event?
  5. Timeline
    • When creating your timeline of activities before, during, and after your book drive, consider the following:
      • Planning and Organizing
      • Publicity
      • Collecting the Books
      • Sorting the Books
      • Delivering the Books

Step Two: Organize

  1. Volunteers
    • Depending on the size of your book drive, you may want to consider recruiting volunteers for the following activities:
      • Coordinating
      • Marketing
      • Collecting
      • Storing
      • Sorting
      • Delivering
    • You might want to recruit additional volunteers, such as:
      • Students
      • Members of Local Organizations
      • Professional Groups
      • Youth Groups
  2. Tasks
    • Coordinating
    • Marketing
    • Collecting
      • Establish a book collection or drop-off site(s).
      • Design collection containers.
      • Check boxes once per day or week and empty when ¾ full.
    • Storing
      • Secure an indoor, temperature-controlled location.
      • Place books in sturdy cardboard boxes.
    • Sorting
      • Discard or give away books that are not appropriate to donate, such as those that feature any of the following characteristics:
      • Sort by age group, which is mentioned on the back or inside cover of the book.
    • Delivering
      • Set up transportation for books, including:
        • From donor location to collection site.
        • From collection site to storage facility.
        • From storage facility to recipients.

Step Three: Publicize

  • Collateral materials that include the donation address, last date for donations, and guidelines for the acceptable condition and type of books.
  • Newsletters.
  • Bulletin boards.
  • Meeting notices.
  • Fliers.
  • Press releases.
  • Announcements at literacy-related or other community events.
  • ELP materials and resources.