Craft Supply Exchange Policy

Craft Supply Exchange Policy - Approved 12-25

The Craft Supply Exchange is a community-supported resource designed to encourage creative reuse, reduce waste, and provide equitable access to craft materials for patrons. To maintain a safe, clean, and functional collection, the Middletown Public Library establishes the following guidelines for donated materials.

Accepted Items:
The library welcomes new or gently used craft items that are clean, complete, and in good working condition. All donations must be provided in their original packaging or in a clean resealable bag. Acceptable categories include:

• Fiber Arts Materials: Yarn, fabric and felt, ribbon, sewing notions such as thread, trim/binding, zippers, and buttons.
• Needlework Supplies: Embroidery floss, hoops, Aida fabric, embroidery tools, and complete needlework kits (e.g., counted cross-stitch, embroidery).
• Knitting & Crochet Tools: Knitting needles, crochet hooks, stitch counters, and comparable accessories.
• Paper & Stamping Arts: Rubber stamps, unused ink pads, embossing tools, scrapbooking and card-making supplies, paper, and cardstock.
• Jewelry & Beading Supplies: Beads, findings, jewelry-making tools, and related components.
• General Art Supplies: Unopened paints, brushes, canvases, and drawing media such as graphite, charcoal, and pastels.
• Floral & Decorative Craft Supplies: Silk flowers, greenery, foam cores or shapes, and decorative containers or baskets.
• Patterns & Templates: Sewing patterns for clothing, doll apparel, and home décor.
• Miscellaneous Craft Items: Small unpainted wood cutouts, empty picture frames and framing supplies, stencils, and tools in clean, working order accompanied by their owner’s manuals.

Items Not Accepted:
To ensure safety, quality, and usability, the library cannot accept the following:

• Non-Craft Items: Clothing, kitchenware, toys, electronics, and other unrelated goods.
• Damaged or Poor-Condition Materials: Broken tools, torn fabric, heavily stained yarn, cut or torn paper, cap-less markers.
• Incomplete or Personal Projects: Partially sewn garments, half-knitted items, or other unfinished personal works.
• Outdated or Unsafe Materials: Expired paints, old adhesives, discontinued patterns of limited utility, homemade chemicals, tools lacking proper safety features.
• Hazardous or Restricted Items: Aerosols, food products or food-related containers, open, partial, or unsealed bottles of glue, paint, spray paint, thinners, or additives.
• Promotional or Branded Items: Fabric scraps and craft kits heavily marked with corporate logos.

Donation Standards:
All materials must be clean, gently used or new, and packaged appropriately to allow staff to assess and safely distribute them. The library reserves the right to decline any donation that does not meet the standards above or that cannot be accommodated due to storage or safety considerations.

All items become library property and may be redistributed or discarded at staff discretion, and will not be returned.

Approved by the Middletown Board of Library Trustees on December 16, 2025