The Children’s Book Bank at SMART Reading accepts donations of new and gently used children’s books Mondays through Thursdays9 am – 5 pm at our location in NE Portland (1915 NE 7th Ave, Portland, OR 97212). If you’d like to drop off books outside of those days and hours, please email bookbank@smartreading.org or call us at 503-616-3981.
We are currently accepting donations of:
Board Books
Picture Books (especially books for younger readers)
Alphabet Books
Spanish Language Books
Multicultural Books
Books About Numbers, Colors, Animals, Shapes, And Words
Story Books
Rhyming Books
Chapter books for students up to 8th grade
Books we are unable to re-home:
Books With Yellow Pages
Vintage Books
Musty Or Damaged Books
Ex-School Library Books
Ex-Library Books
Books For Adults
Magazines
Coloring Books
Encyclopedias
Textbooks
Classroom Sets
Books for high school students
Kindles, Tablets, Or E-Readers
Your Donation Is Tax Deductible
Donations of new or gently used books are tax deductible. When you drop off your books, we will provide you with a receipt. However, the IRS prohibits us from assigning a value to in-kind donations. The IRS offers two publications that can give guidance for what the fair market value of your donation is: Publication 561 (Determining the Value of Donated Property) and Publication 526 (Charitable Contributions).
FAQs About Donating Books:
My school library just cleaned off their shelves, and we have tons of books to give away. When can I bring you these books?
Unfortunately, books that are weeded from library shelves are either too damaged for us to restore or they have been pulled because they are no longer of high interest to the students we serve. So we are unable to restore and re-home these books and cannot accept them.
Can I leave books for you outside your posted hours?
Goodness no! Books can become damaged when left outside, and we then will not be able to use them. Please check our posted hours and give us a quick call to make sure we’re open and accepting donations before you stop by!
I’d also like to donate the puzzles, games, stuffed animals, and other toys that my child has outgrown. Can you take these as well?
No. We can only accept books that are of use to our programs and the supplies needed to bring these gently used books back to life.
I have some boxes of books all ready to go, can you please come and pick it up?
We are not able to accommodate requests for donation pick-ups.
I would like to donate my collection of Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, or other vintage favorites, do you accept these books?
No. Vintage editions of popular titles are no longer of high interest to the students we serve, and we are not able to re-home these treasures. We do accept newer editions of these titles!
I’d like to host a book drive. What do I need to know?
You can find all your book drive questions answered here.
I’d also like to donate school supplies and art supplies, can you take these items?
The only supplies we are able to accept are those needed in our book cleaning process listed below:
Tote bags: We distribute thousands each year. Let us know if you would like to contribute to our bag fund.
Contact bookbank@smartreading.org if you are interested in helping with a supplies donation. Deliver or ship all supplies to 1915 NE 7th Avenue, Portland, OR 97212
