You may wish to find out about York Libraries stock policy by viewing the Stock Policy PDF file. The document contains details of the following:

• How the service selects books, CDs, DVDs and other items for your library.
• How the service reflects what local communities want.
• How the service circulates items around all of the libraries to ensure stock is constantly refreshed and a wider choice is made available to the customer.
• How the service promotes and maintains these items.
• How the service decides on which items to keep or which are disposed of.
• How the service measures its performance.

Frequently Asked Questions about Library Stock

Is it free to borrow items?

Books are free to borrow, as are books on tape. DVDs and CDs do cost a small amount to borrow.

The book I want isn’t in my local library. Can I request it to come from somewhere else?

Yes. If the item you want is in stock in another City of York library, you can place a request free of charge. You can do this either online, or by asking a member of staff when you next visit a library. The library will contact you when the book arrives in stock. If the book is not a part of the stock, the library can either buy it for stock, or offer you the option of having it requested from another library service in the country. There is a charge for this.

How do you buy books?

Some items are bought by the library suppliers. The library also orders items based on customer requests.

Can I donate books to the library?

Yes, but library staff do have the right to decline to put it into stock. The library only accepts donations that are in very good condition. Items that are in a poor condition or are out of date will not be accepted.

Do you sell ex-library stock?

Yes. Most libraries have a regular monthly book sale. Details of these can  be found on the website, or in your local library. York library also has a permanent book sale.

You have a book in stock that I would like. Will you sell it to me?

The library service does not withdraw items from library stock and sell them to a customer on request.