I have these books…

Q: Are you accepting donations?

A: No, not at this time.

I have this conversation a few times with patrons every week. The other day, the person on the phone said “but what am I going to do with these books?” So glad you asked! There are lots of ways to reuse or upcycle books.

Since we have access to many lightly damaged donations and library books that have to be discarded, I am always looking for craft projects that would use them and have discovered that there are many to make things from books.

I would love to use some of these projects for my craft programs here at the library, but they mostly take more than the hour I have for the program.  But everyone needs a book made into a box, or a planter, or a clock, don’t they?

So, if you have the books, we have the projects!

Folded Book Art: 35 Beautiful Projects to Transform Your Books -- Create Cards, Display Scenes, Decorations, Gifts, and More

Book Art: Creative Ideas to Transform Your Books - Decorations, Stationery, Display Scenes, and More

Upcycling Books: Decorative Objects

Playing with Books: The Art of Upcycling, Deconstructing, & Reimagining the Book

And if you don’t have any books to play with…there are also a lot of books on making books!

PS: We love donations and will be very happy when the Mercer County Library System can accept them again. Your donations are sorted by staff and volunteers from our Friends of the Library groups, and are often then sold at the Friends’ book sales and online to raise money to support the many programs the library runs. Books that are not appropriate for the book sales or to add to our collection are donated to various literacy programs, so you can be assured that your donations to the library system do a lot of good.

- by Meg Baker, West Windsor Branch