Selecting foreign language books donated by Asia Foundation and Asian‐US Bridge Foundation

Purpose – Many Chinese libraries have limited budget to buy foreign language books. The purpose of this paper is to introduce an available and cheaper suggestion for the budgets of small libraries' foreign language books acquisition. Design/methodology/approach – This paper discusses the benefits of selecting donated books and takes some small libraries in China as examples to conduct the case study. Findings – Advantages of selecting donated books include: quick arrival, lower cost, and a variety of title selections. Disadvantages are: no book list, long distance, unsatisfied selection. Practical implications – Donated books in one's purchasing program can substantially expand the range and amount of materials that libraries are able to collect. Originality/value – This paper will be useful to any library facing budget cuts as well as looking for ways to continually provide a wide variety of library materials.