Donate Books & Materials

The GFO Library has grown to more than 50,000 holdings thanks to the generous donations of its members and focused acquisitions over the years.  We encourage the donation of books and other research materials to enable us to grow our collection.  Our greatest need is for books at the county level for all the U.S. states; books with vital records, cemetery records, land records, and so on.  We also need research guides, especially for countries where genealogy is just beginning to become popular.  Additions to our Northwest Schools Collection (yearbooks) are also most welcome.

Please download a donation form, fill it out, and include it with your donation of materials.

All donations will be reviewed to determine if they fulfill a need of the Library or duplicate existing items.  Items that are not added to the collection may be sold.  These sales are an important revenue source for the Library and a benefit to patrons who gain access to books that are not always available from other sources.  Some items may be offered to other organizations, offered for free to GFO patrons, donated elsewhere, or discarded. The Library’s Collection Development Policy provides a more detailed look at the selection process. 

The Library sometimes accepts items that are important to maintaining the facility, such as computers, printers, or up-to-date audio-visual equipment. Please contact the GFO to see if there is a need for the equipment before bringing it to the Library.  We also accept office supplies and paper. Anything we cannot use is put on our "Free" table for members and visitors.