Books by Mail Costs and Policies

[Elly Krumwiede]

It was wonderful meeting so many of you at conference last week! We have a homebound delivery service but operate in a large service area (1,800+ square miles) and are considering piloting books by mail for some customers in the future. 

If you offer books by mail service, would you be willing to share info about costs and any policies/procedures you follow? I'm trying to get a per patron cost estimate. I'd also love to know: 

• If you have limits on the number or type of items sent out.
• If customers must return one mailer of items before receiving an added one.
• If you run books by mail on a regular schedule (for example, 1 delivery/month) or if it is more ad hoc/when patrons call. 

Feel free to email me directly at ekrum...@piercecountylibrary.org if you have any attachments, etc., to share. 

Thanks! 

Elly Krumwiede (she/her) | Senior Librarian - Outreach

Pierce County Library System

3005 112^th St. E., Tacoma, WA 98446

Main: 253-548-3300 | Direct: 253-548-3401

www.mypcls.org

 

[Rebecca Cooper]

Hi Elly,

I have about 30 patrons on my mail out list. 

1. I limit it to about 5 books—that’s what fits in our bags.

2. They only get one bag, so must return it before I send more.

3. I check accounts every Monday (Tuesday if there is a holiday). If there are holds I will mail them out that day, otherwise, I pretty much mail out as I get bags back and they have holds waiting.

I track my mail outs on a spreadsheet, so I know who has items out, how many, and when they are due. I also track the date mailed, number of bags mailed and cost of postage. 

Hope this helps.

Warm regards,

Rebecca

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 13, 2025, at 3:32 PM, Elly Krumwiede <EKrum...@piercecountylibrary.org> wrote:



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[MaryLei Barclay]

The Arrowhead Library System in NE Minnesota has an entire Mail-A-Book department and covers our 7 county region. There is no limit on items, but they do have their own collection. The collection contains paperbacks (mass market and trade) to make shipping cheaper. They have cloth bags that they send out to patrons and patrons can return them in the bag with prepaid postage.

If you have more questions, (since it isn't my department) I would contact our Executive Director Mollie Stanford, mollie....@alslib.info , or the Mail-A-Book Coordinator Melody Dane, melod...@alslib.info , to get more information.

MaryLei Barclay 

Bookmobile Coordinator 

Arrowhead Library System 

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