Where to donate books?

September 4, 2006 8:05 AM

Where can I donate my books so that they'll go to a good cause?

I have a ton of old books, mostly paperbacks, that I know I won't be reading anytime soon and would like to just get rid of them. The problem is, I feel like if I just dump them at Goodwill or something, they won't go to good use. I have whole series of books by people like Orson Scott Card and Isaac Asimov, so I'd like to see them go to someone who likes them. Anybody have any ideas? Can you sell books to a book shop or something? If it's any help, I'm in Atlanta, GA....

posted by phaedrus441 to Work & Money (16 answers total)

You could put them on paperbackswap.com. You'll get credits for them and can have other people send you books you want.
posted by needs more cowbell at 8:09 AM on September 4, 2006

Does your local library system have an annual book sale? If so, donate the books to them so they can sell them to others. You get rid of the books, the library sells them for cheap to others, they make badly needed money, everybody is happy. You may also get a tax write off by donating them. If they give you a receipt, you'll be golden.
posted by NoMich at 8:13 AM on September 4, 2006

Check with your local library.
We take book donations, a few go in the collection (whatever is needed) and whatever remains gets sold in an annual book sale with proceeds going to buying more books for the collection.
Things that smell (like heavy smoker puts trashy romance novels in musty attic for 20 years) or are damaged go in the dumpster as do text books and encyclopedia sets, and phone books...(yep, thanks for the phone book donation:)
posted by TheLibrarian at 8:16 AM on September 4, 2006

Hospitals like those, also anything in the correctional system.
posted by unrepentanthippie at 8:21 AM on September 4, 2006

you should donate to books to prisons, c/o Equal Justice USA, more info at www.ejusa.org.
posted by parmanparman at 8:26 AM on September 4, 2006

I have donated books to homeless shelters, and Friends of Abused Families, and felt a bit better than donating to Good Will.
posted by ugf at 8:55 AM on September 4, 2006

Send them to soldiers stationed overseas, particularly in Iraq. They really, really appreciate it. I happen to run a website for a series of pulp fiction books and was contacted by the wife of a soldier two years back, asking if I could get the publisher to send books to her husband's unit. I wound up arranging a book drive to send a few hundred books over. I later heard back from the unit, telling me how much they appreciated it.

These soldiers are stuck in a hellish situation with very few opportunities for entertainment or to just escape for a while. One of the few things you can do when sitting on a rock in the middle of the desert is pull out a paperback you have stowed in one of your cargo pockets. It seems like a simple thing, but it really does make a difference.
posted by Lokheed at 8:56 AM on September 4, 2006

Or you can trade them for new books via BookMooch.
posted by griffey at 9:12 AM on September 4, 2006

Many jails and prisons are very, very touchy about what books and magazines can be donated. One of the local jails only takes Star Trek paperbacks, because they have no sex in them, and they don't have to actually be bothered to read the summaries or know anything about books.

Donate them to your local public library, for the booksale.
posted by QIbHom at 9:37 AM on September 4, 2006

Call your local university (Emory? Tech?) and ask if they are doing a book drive. My university bookstore always has a huge box up, and what they collect goes to schools in Africa. I don't think they're fussy, and eventually some kid will fall in love with science fiction because of you.
posted by anjamu at 9:51 AM on September 4, 2006

Also, because you seem unsure about this:
"New book" stores like Borders will not buy used books. But "used book" stores do exist, and they do buy used books. Used paperbacks will not get you much money at all, but if you want to sell rather than donating, look in the phone book under "books - used" or "used books". Some used book places will let you leave a box of books in good condition, even if they have decided they don't want to buy them from you -- these books then fill the Dollar Book Bin out in front of the store.
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:08 AM on September 4, 2006

We set up a table in the lunchroom at our office for people to drop off their books for other people to take.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 11:12 AM on September 4, 2006

http://www.betterworldbooks.com/default.aspx


They are helping out New Orleans Public Libraries to rebuild along with many other good causes.
posted by legotech at 4:58 PM on September 4, 2006

Several good ideas here. Another: a local assisted living facility.
posted by yclipse at 5:01 PM on September 4, 2006

Joe's Coffee and Perk, both in East Atlanta, both have tons of swappable books. Joe's asks a nominal donation, which goes to a local library. Perk's are just takeable. Both locations are very low-key about who takes or leaves books - I've dumped off a dozen books at a time and not been looked at funny.
posted by jessicapierce at 9:37 PM on September 4, 2006

Check out your local branch of Habitat for Humanity. Habitat often holds book sales to raise money, and would probably be willing to take all your books.
posted by lunchbox at 7:38 AM on September 5, 2006