Services

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      The Friends of the Cascade Library (Friends) recently introduced a book pick-up service for anyone who needs assistance in boxing and delivering books they want to donate to the library. They call it “Book-It,” and they hope it can reverse a trend that has seen book donations begin to taper off this year, according to Friends President Joe David.

      “We have been so fortunate that so many of our neighbors have been willing and able to consistently put their used books in our drop box at the library,” explained David. “But, we know from experience that many people just don’t have the time, energy or physical capabilities to get large quantities of books from their homes or businesses to us without some help.

      “Sometimes people want to donate their own collections or those left behind in an estate but either have other demands on their time or don’t know where to turn to get the ball rolling,” he explained. That’s where “Book-It” comes in. 

      If you’re interested in using the pick-up service, here’s how it works:

      1.  Contact the Friends to determine if your collection is eligible for pick-up services and, if so, when is best for you. You can either send an email to cascadefriends1@gmail.com or go to their website (cascadefriends.org/donations), complete the brief form at the bottom of the page and hit “send.”

      2.  The Friends will need to know (a) where the books are located, (b) the approximate number of books, (c) the predominant types or categories (fiction, non-fiction, textbook, etc.), and (d) the general condition of the books.

      3.  If the Friends think a preliminary visit is a good idea to determine the number of volunteers and cars needed, they will schedule an Evaluation Visit with you.

      4.  Once they determine what's needed, they will schedule a Pick-Up Visit. Generally, they can get everything in a single trip. But, a very large collection might require multiple visits. They always do their best to not disrupt other activities in your home.

      David added that “Book-It” is a free service intended to assist with medium to large book collections that might be too unwieldy to drop in the bins at the library. 

      “We are an all-volunteer organization and want to be respectful of our volunteers’ time and availability,” he said. “So, we ask that small-to-medium-sized donations be put in the green drop box outside the library. If you’re not sure if your donation meets the requirements for “Book-It” service, get in touch with us and we’ll figure out how to best handle it together.”

      In those cases where a donor has the ability to deliver a large donation on his or her own but would be unable to deposit all the books in the bins, they should contact the Friends to arrange a time for volunteers to meet them outside the library.

      “We will unload the boxed or unboxed books and transport them into the library for the donor,” David said. “In other words, we’re very flexible when it comes to finding ways to help out people who want to donate books in support of the library because, without their support, we could not succeed in our mission to help fund a wide variety of special programs the library offers for the education and entertainment of people of all age groups in the community.”

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