Elizabeth Albers recently participated in the donation of more than 50 books to the Macon County Public Library. Albers, who homeschools her children, said the reason the recent Teen/Young Adult books’ donations are important is that “there has been a decline in new book acquisitions representing traditional family values in most public libraries. Several of these new donations are the only copies available in public libraries in the state of North Carolina. These additions help bring more balance to the Teen/Young Adult nonfiction collection.”
According to Albers, the large donation was the result of Macon County residents from multiple local churches offering funds to purchase new books. Additionally, Dalton’s Christian Book Store in Franklin purchased Teen/Young Adult books “at cost” and coordinated with publishers to provide books to the library.
A few of the books included in the recent donation are: “A Guy’s Guide to Four Battles every Young Man Must Face: a manual to overcoming life’s common distractions” by Jonathan McKee; “Live Fearless” by Sadie Robertson; “Transgender to Transformed: a story of transition that will truly set you free” by Laura Perry Smalts; “Searching for Truth: The Illustrated Gospel” by Tim Chaffey; “The Prince Warriors Series” (four books) by Priscilla Shirer; “Brave: a teen girl’s guide to beating worry and anxiety” by Sissy Goff; “Be Loved” by Emma Mae Jenkins; “Let There Be Art” by Rachel Marie Kang; “Why does God care who I Sleep With?” by Sam Allberry; and, “Triumph Over Trauma” by Gregory L. Jantz.
County Librarian Abby Hardison shared that while “the library receives book donations all the time, the majority of items added to the library collections are not items received through donation.”
She explained the reason.
“The items with the highest demand are new, recently-released titles,” said Hardison. “Also, our patrons can usually get most titles they are interested in through the NC Cardinal network, if we do not already have it. When we receive classics or high-circulation titles in excellent used condition, we may add them if we do not currently have a copy, or we may check our existing copies for wear and tear and swap them out if necessary. Any items added to library collections must meet the guidelines for inclusion outlined in the FRL Collection Development Policy, whether they are acquired through purchase or donation.”
Hardison said that even though the recent donation of Teen/Young Adults was significant, the library does receive “book donations ranging from one book to sometimes hundreds of books at one time. The vast majority of donations are from people purging and weeding out their own personal collections, or someone is moving and wants to get rid of things. Occasionally a person, local group, or entity donates one or several new books.”
Any materials donated to the library that are not added to the collection are sent to the Friends of the Macon County Public Library Bookstore and are added to the inventory for sale, noted Hardison.
As for the latest donation of Teen/Young Adult books, Albers pointed out that patrons may look up these titles in the online catalog at www.fontanalib.org or request them.