Barbara Rodgers asks the following.
Our church library has become the final resting place for Bibles left in Lost and Found for more than a year. Worn out and torn Bibles from somewhere (no one knows where) keep turning up in the library in boxes and plastic bags. And I do ask, "Who left these Bibles by the library door?" I counted a total of 125 unusable Bibles taking up valuable library closet space. What am I supposed to do with them? What is the protocol for respectfully of disposing of unusable Bibles?
Replies
We repair them well enough to be used and send them to Love Packages. If pages are missing, you can use the pages from another Bible. I know how that sounds, but as long as it is a complete Bible they will send it. I usually include a note on the Bible stating that pages were replaced, so they aren't confused with the appearance of the Bible.
Great question -- and wonderful replies.
Our county historical society also is a final resting place for Bibles. (We have nowhere near 125 -- oh, my!) The society started an initiative to match Bibles with families. One of our board members is skilled at genealogical research and has been very successful in locating families. It's a blessing to see the families' responses to the Bibles
Just a thought - maybe a historical society could help.
I have an ongoing used Bible drive - any condition, covers missing, sections removed, writing and highlighting, any language, etc. It started out as a one time thing in 2023, but people have continued to bring me their old Bibles. How can I say no? :)
I donate them to an organization called Love Packages that has a ministry to missionaries in English speaking 3rd world countries. They have a drop off location an hour from me so once a year I will take Bibles I've collected.
The website is lovepackages.org.
If you scroll down you can see a map with dropoff locations in the Eastern US:
https://lovepackages.org/contact-us/
They are a non-denominational organization, and they do not accept certain kinds of materials. Please sort through your donations before sending them. This is mostly a 1-man show at the distribution facility, so the less sorting he has to do, the better. I believe in 2022 they shipped out around 100 shipping containers full of Bibles and other religious study materials.
There is a video of their process on their website.
Hope this helps! :)
Thank you for the information. I didnt know there was a group doing this. I will look into it.
My former church used the library as a collection spot for donating old Bibles. They would be passed on to various prison and jail ministries - they always needed Bibles, and were not at all particular about the condition. Some also went to a local homeless shelter, including children's Bible for homeless families.
Great ida.
Barbara,
First, be thankful that there are people left who still think of the church library's needs, even if it is not exactly what you need. I try not to reject donations if at all possible.
If there are some Bibles that you know were church member Bibles, you could pass them along to family members. I have found, though, sometimes it is the family members who might be the ones leaving them. I have a collection that I keep in the church archives that I selected with future church anniversary displays in mind. At the last anniversary I honored a former deacon who had passed away with his deacon plaque, picture, and his Bible. I displayed the orginal church charter in the library window and what I would have loved to have Bibles of some of the charter members to place in there along with it.
You might want to check inside them to be sure there is no church history information noted somewhere in the Bible. I have a deacon that records things in his Bible, so I've copied the notes into a digital file.
I also have three huge Bibles that I got in a book sale that I use as props to display books in the library window.
Any that are in good shape I may keep to give to people who may not have a Bible or to pass along to a thrift store. If it is falling apart and not in good shape, then those need to go into the trash. I might save loose pages to scatter at the bottom of a library window display or to paste on to cardboard if I can see a use for them. I don't know if there is any "official" protocol for disposing of Bibles, but this is what I do. I try to be respectful, but if the book is tearing up, then there is not much choice left.
Rhonda
Thank you for the suggestions. Those are good ideas and I will foolw through on you suggestions.