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Where can I donate books?
By brendan | March 20, 2009
(38 votes, average: 3.92 out of 5)
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One of the most common questions we get from customers and booksellers alike is “where can I donate my used books?” So, I thought I’d take a moment to offer some suggestions for the bibliophile looking to lighten his or her shelves.
Donating your books can be a wonderful way to make a difference to a non-profit organization, even when the purse strings are tight (aren’t everyone’s these days?).
But, first things first – please make note of this very important rule for donating used books:
If you wouldn’t want them on your living room shelves, very likely nobody else will either!
If you can describe a book as moldy, stinky, torn, pages missing, ragged or just plain icky, please don’t make it someone else’s problem. You might as well bring them your kitchen garbage as a donation, too!
Recycle paperbacks them by simply taking them to a paper recycling center as-is; for hardcovers, you must first rip off the covers and throw them away and recycle the text block (the book that remains after you’ve taken off the covers and spine).
Once you’ve culled the mold, there are plenty of organizations that are always in need of books (in good shape!) for their programs. Some ideas you might want to check in to locally might include (listed in no order of preference):
- Homeless shelters. Especially womens’ shelters, as there are often kids staying with their mom’s. Good childrens’ books are almost always welcome. You might check with the staff at the shelter first to make sure they don’t have any specific restrictions on the types of books they don’t want.
- Prisons. Your local detention center or prison may be a great place to donate some books. Note, though: be certain to check with them about their requirements for donations. Most likely, they will not want hardcover books, and will be very stringent about the subject matter.
- Local schools. Your local elementary or secondary school often needs books for students learning to read. However, they are going to have specific books they are looking for. Ask a teacher or administrator for a wishlist of books that they need for their classroom, and donate any that might apply. You could also check with area pre-schools.
- Friends of the Library. Most likely, your local library system has a friends of the library organization that works to raise money for the library through the sale of used books at regular library book sales. They will generally welcome books of all subject matters in nice condition.
- Local thrift stores. This includes Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill and Salvation Army in addition to smaller charity run thrift shops that may be benefiting specific needs in your community. They will generally sell the books you donate to raise money for their respective causes, so be certain that you believe in the cause they support (and be certain they are a non-profit group; there are a number of thrift stores that are purely for-profit enterprises).
- Hospitals. Believe it or not, your local hospital will likely appreciate small book donations here and there, to share with folks who are there for an extended stay. Check with the administration first, of course.
If you’re not able to find a local cause to donate your books to, there are a couple of places that accept book donations shipped to them (although because of the cost of shipping, donating to a local cause is almost always going to be the most efficient way to “invest” your books):
- Books For Soldiers. This non-profit group helps you get books into the hands of U.S. troops overseas. You will have to submit an application and be approved to ship books this way.
- Books for Africa. A great organization that works to build libraries and schools in Africa. Textbooks in English and French are always welcome, but so are nearly any other books in reasonable condition.
- Better World Books. Better World Books is not actually a non-profit – they are a for-profit company, but partner with various charitable causes to help raise money. When you send books to them, they will sell them for prices ranging from $0.01 and up, and will generally share 30% of the revenue with a non-profit of your choice. Books that they can’t use are recycled.
For awhile, BiblioWorks (the 501c3 education and literacy non-profit that Biblio.com founded) was accepting book donations, but that is no longer the case.
I’m certain there are others in this category, but those are the one I’m familiar with at the moment – if you know of others, make sure and drop us a comment, so we can include them!
Topics: MIGRATED TO BIBLIO | 79 Comments »
May 17th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
check out http://www.bridgeofbooksfoundation.org
May 26th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
If you’re in the New England area, there is a service called “Got Books?” that will pick them up at your home for free and has drop-of locations.
Check out http://www.gotbooks.com
June 15th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
If your in Central Florida, please donate childrens books to Recyled Reading! We will pick them up at your home and they will be distributed back into the community.
Contact us through:
RecyledReadingOrlando@gmail.com
July 15th, 2009 at 12:01 am
When you donate a book, list it here http://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=127433 by clicking on the ADD button. If you put a unique note or sticker in the book (a la bookcrossing) you may be able to track the book in the future. You can also “balance out” the book you read and donated by planting a tree if you visit http://www.Eco-Libris.net. When you balance it out, tell them you also listed it and tagged it on fromREADtoGREEN.com
August 17th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
[...] your bookcase to figure out which kinds of books you want to read more of and which you can donate (read here to learn more about where you can donate books). Want to study more by your desk than the couch? Clean up your desk space so that it’s the [...]
October 6th, 2009 at 9:40 am
I am a librarian at Libala High School. Book Aid International stopped donating books to Zambian schools in particular. The reasons best known to BAI. The children are at a loss for trusting Book International or the question is should students suffer because of the inefficiency of Zambia Library Service. Please come to the aid of the pupils. As Libala High School through the Ministry of Education we can link up and afford Zambia Library Service, we can even link up with other schools more especially in the rural area to receive your wonderful donations. We as Libala High School value the assistance we were receiving. Wye Valley usually sends materials to the school so BAI can link up
December 10th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
[...] plan for salvaging and separating children’s books, categorizing them and boxing them so you can donate them to kids who could use them. There are several places you could donate used books that redistribute them to [...]
December 21st, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Adrian, I’m in the process of setting up a non-profit that gets books to schools in Africa. I would be happy to talk to you about how we could help.
January 30th, 2010 at 3:14 am
have lots of books to donate..where should i donate them other than goodwill?
March 29th, 2010 at 3:03 am
Check out http://www.gskool.com/new
You can donate your books there.
April 22nd, 2010 at 9:59 am
[...] other places to donate are homeless shelters, local schools, and hospitals. Over at For the love of books they have a discussion of this very topic. Some of their commentors can give you ideas on things in [...]
May 1st, 2010 at 11:30 pm
Very interesting post, I learned about some new resources. Thank you very much
June 24th, 2010 at 10:01 pm
What about a Kindle? I have received one through a drawing, but cannot keep it for Ethics reasons – and as such must donate it.
Do you think any non-profits could use a Kindle (with no ebooks on it)?
August 10th, 2010 at 10:30 am
[...] More ideas for purging and appreciating:) books HERE and HERE. [...]
August 30th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
[...] toys, books, clothes and other items. Here’s a great consolidated list of places to donate books. Below are a few more to consider. (Not all of them accept used books as donations, but they [...]
September 21st, 2010 at 1:11 pm
please donate books to Philippines, the library we have here has 1990 books as the latest… we are in dire need of new good books. the public library doesn’t have even one harry potter book. please contact me for your donations.
October 13th, 2010 at 11:33 am
If you’re in Los Angeles, the best and easiest way to donate is through http://www.booksforpeople.org. They pick up any donation over 2 boxes for free! And your donations raise money to tutor homeless kids. My family has used them several times and they’re really great.
November 5th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Please donate childrens story books, magazines, textbooks. I belong to a women’s group and we would like to start a mobile library for children in the neighbourhood. There is not a single library in the neighbourhood and we would like to develop a reading culture among the children. Most of these children come from poor families which can barely afford a single meal a day. This mobile library would be a great source of information and knowledge for these underprivileged kids. Most of these kids love to read but cannot afford books of their own. Any kind of books u can donate will go a long way.
Thanks
December 10th, 2010 at 2:04 am
I was interested in some ideas of where I can donate my older (2000 – 2006), but VERY lightly used university texts. I am in Canada and I was wanting to send them through a Christian organization and bless a 2nd or 3rd world country struggling to get such texts in their university libraries or high school libraries.
January 6th, 2011 at 6:32 pm
[...] more tips on donating books, check this out. [Link to [...]
January 11th, 2011 at 9:01 pm
I am a public librarian. Our library has only more than 1 thousand books so far. It needs more book and non-book materials. Hope some organizations or individuals could donate books to our library. We would appreciate it very much. Here’s the address:
Sta. Rita Municipal Library,
Real St., Santan, Sta. Rita, Samar,
Philippines 6718
January 26th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
You can donate any book to books4cause.com and they will find a home for it. They run book donation drives nationally on college campuses They will pick up books at your home or office. If you are located in Chicago you can also drop off your donation.
February 5th, 2011 at 11:46 pm
In Chile (southamerica) I go to the flea market and buy used books from the US. They are really cheap compared to books in Spanish sold in local stores.
Thanks to those books I have been able to improve my English.
I used to teach at a local university and most of the textbooks I used were bought there.
February 6th, 2011 at 2:53 am
I have children, teen as well as young adult books in good to great condition and want to donate to a group that will appreciate them… I cannot afford to ship. Please advise.
February 12th, 2011 at 9:02 pm
Another great way to donate books is through The Kenyan Promise http://www.thekenyanpromise.org
It’s a great non-profit that help to provide basic resources needed for learning, including books, uniforms and building improvements.
March 10th, 2011 at 9:53 am
heart for children community resource centre requires book donated to them to support education of orphans and vulnerable children educational needs
March 15th, 2011 at 10:14 am
Hello, I have college tExt books from late 1997 – 2000, along with other great bookS. I would like to donate them, but I live in the Chicago area. Are you aware of someone who can pick them up. There is over 100 books. Thanks
AKIBA GRACE ZAKAI
March 29th, 2011 at 6:08 pm
You can help by donating your unwanted books at one of our Reading Tree book bins. We accept all types of books – children’s, adult, hardback and paperback. Children’s books will be donated to schools, family literacy programs, and international libraries – over 1.6 million books were donated to such programs in 2008! Unusable books will be recycled, preventing unnecessary additions to our nation’s landfills, and some books may be sold to help pay for our programs.
Encourage your friends and family to get involved by donating books to Reading Tree!
March 29th, 2011 at 7:44 pm
I give all my books to the The Disabled American Veterans. They come to my home and pick up the donations. I give them more than books as well.
March 30th, 2011 at 7:44 pm
What an excellent resource. In this one blog post alone of come across like 10+ ways to donate my books. Thanks to all the commenters specially comment #3, you linked helped immensely. thanks
March 31st, 2011 at 3:17 am
@Dangelyn said: “Hope some organizations or individuals could donate books to our library.”
I see your in the Philippines. If I sent a box of donated books are there customs issues I need to be aware of?
March 31st, 2011 at 11:30 am
Brendan, thanks for sharing your donation location ideas. I would have never thought of #6, ever, but really appreciate that you listed it. Hospitals seem like a great opportunity to donate that would benefit a lot of people in need. Good idea.
April 3rd, 2011 at 7:40 am
In the UK we have a myriad of charity shops supporting places like oxfam to local hospitals. I always donate my read books – not got enough space to store them anyway.
April 3rd, 2011 at 8:25 pm
Lots of practical ideas here. It’s a shame to throw out books when there are so many places that can put them to good use.
April 4th, 2011 at 7:09 am
If you are in the state of Nevada please donate your books to http://www.donatemybooks.com
Thank you
April 4th, 2011 at 10:11 am
I know a wildlife charity that takes in unwanted books and then runs a second hand book sale on a fairly regular basis to help generate much needed funds for the running of their wildlife hospital.
You can view the charity here and what fabulous work they do for rescuing and operating on injured wildlife and domestic animals.
They are a charity that receives no government funding and are purely reliant on donations, so please feel free to browse and or assist them.
Thanks!
The Riverside Animal Centre Charity
April 4th, 2011 at 8:33 pm
We are a small group of volunteers in Phoenix, Arizona who collects gently used books then resells them and donates the money to charity here in Maricopa County. Check out our website if you wish us to pick up your books or deliver them to us in one of our convenient drop boxes throughout the valley of the sun.
April 5th, 2011 at 12:14 am
My nephews and nieces have donated their old books in their school. I am truly inspired with their act of generosity. Now I am planning to donate my old books as well.
April 5th, 2011 at 5:13 am
Its really a nice idea to donate books, try to donate books to local libraries or churches where underprivileged children can benefit.
Thanks,
Robert, WA
Baby Carrier Reviews
April 5th, 2011 at 8:37 am
We always donate our used books (but also cloths, shoes, toys, furniture) to people in our neighbourhood. We handle our properties very carefully, though our used stuff is still in good condition. When you look around, there might be a lot of people in your area, who are very happy to receive it…
April 5th, 2011 at 1:44 pm
I do really love donating books because in this way I know that I am imparting new inputs to millions of people who can benefit the books.
April 6th, 2011 at 1:59 am
An excellent resource of places to donate books. I have a ton of books I’ve purchased over the years that I keep telling myself I’m going to read but never get around to it. I will use this to let other people use and benefit from the books I’ve accumulated and not gotten around to.
Thanks!
April 7th, 2011 at 5:45 am
When my children had grown out of their old books, it just so happened that the local school they were attending was running a book donation drive at the time, looking for new books to help the little ones out with learning to read; so that’s where they went.
I’ve got some books of my own that I’m not going to be reading any time soon. Perhaps I should consider donating them to the local library? It’d be nice to help out.
Alan Beckett
P.S. Mind if I leave a shameless plug? I’m the webmaster for a site that provides state vital records information – State Vital Records
April 7th, 2011 at 3:40 pm
Great ideas! I had never thought about donating my books to the local homeless shelter…
April 8th, 2011 at 12:26 am
Here’s an idea for making excellent use of old books for those with the time to spend: Create some specialty collections that would be of interest to hobbyists, collectors, etc. and place the entire collection for sale on eBay. You can generally command a higher prices for used books sold in this way than you can by trying to sell them all separately. Then donate the money you’ve earned in this fashion to the non-profit organization of your choice. Oftentimes they would prefer the money to the books, especially in this austere times.
April 8th, 2011 at 11:39 am
The BOOKBRIDGE Foundation is an international group collecting books and building self sustaining teaching libraries in Mongolia. Our Student Government group became the first collection hub for new and/or gently used books for this purpose.
April 8th, 2011 at 7:01 pm
We have another use for used books here on the Oregon coast. A young boy started asking for books to be donated, with the proceeds going to the local food share program.
It turned out very well. Many in town pick up good books for just a little money and it all goes to help those less fortunate.
April 9th, 2011 at 8:28 pm
Here’s anothe great place to donate books while at the same time helping raise money for world literacy
http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Info-Donate-Books-m-7.aspx
April 10th, 2011 at 10:57 pm
“where can I donate my used books?”
A good place to donate there books is to a public school or public library, it helps a lot.
There are a lot of kids generally in asia who has no access to books or any reading materials so if your not using your old books donate them.
Greg
visit us:
Hypnotherapy Brisbane
April 11th, 2011 at 6:23 pm
It truly is great to see people helping people, and why not give books away that you are not using/reading anyways? It will only better the lives of others in your community. Thanks for listing all the great places to donate, we have Goodwill in our area.
April 12th, 2011 at 2:56 am
This is really helpful information. My wife and I have a ton of books on shelves throughout the house and now I have a few good places to donate them to. Thanks.
April 13th, 2011 at 10:59 am
Sarah-
I perfeclty agree “It’s a great non-profit that help to provide basic resources needed for learning, including books” However I am here in Europe and I rechently had a ton of books to give a way or donate.. nobody had a need for it….
Frank Suchmaschinenoptimierung
P.S. Mind if I leave a German plug? I’m the webmaster for (Suchmaschinenoptimierung Bochum ) in lovely Germany – Thanks
April 14th, 2011 at 11:45 am
I agree with donating any books to “books4cause.com”
Lessie Gaspar from max international blog
April 17th, 2011 at 10:40 pm
Our Youth Ministry is building a Library in Liberia and we really need books… kindly help us.
April 18th, 2011 at 11:53 am
Some great ideas here for disposing of the hundreds of no-longer-read books that seem to fill up our house. Thank you.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:29 pm
I’ve seen numerous book types mentioned. I have a full set of encyclopaedia, circa 1992 that I’d like to donate. I’d appreciate any donation suggestions.
April 24th, 2011 at 5:06 pm
[...] Where can I donate books? | for.theloveofbooks.com Mar 20, 2009 … But, first things first ??“ please make note of this very important rule for donating used books: … [...]
May 2nd, 2011 at 10:43 pm
I don’t understand why the youth today are not much into reading because books are so great, but if you do want to donate books for others to enjoy I guess you can also go to your local churches and give them the books. I’m sure they’ll know where the books will be needed.
July 5th, 2011 at 2:04 am
It needs more book and non-book materials. Hope some organizations or individuals could donate books to our library.This mobile library would be a great source of information and knowledge for these underprivileged kids. Most of these kids love to read but cannot afford books of their own. Any kind of books u can donate will go a long way.
July 12th, 2011 at 11:36 pm
Most books donated to libraries don’t seem to make it into the libraries’ lending collections. Instead, donated books are often sold by friends of the library groups to raise money for library programs and services. These sales are valuable to the libraries, and they provide low-cost reading material for the community.
July 13th, 2011 at 4:08 am
Books are very important. This contributes a lot to our learning. With this we happen to know thing we were not able to forget somehow. A 8very useful material indeed!
July 13th, 2011 at 10:56 pm
I hope they will be provided with books because there are certain part of the countries who really lack this materials.
July 17th, 2011 at 8:45 pm
I love to read book, especially those that adds knowledge to my career. For me. books are really important to gain leanings and new things.
July 19th, 2011 at 9:26 am
Please, am in Tanzania. We are registered NGO, we are looking for the books or any other learning materials, in order to support and save vurnable children.
please email me. childprospective@yahoo.com
August 29th, 2011 at 2:38 pm
Please donate children story books, magazines, textbooks, reference books, history etc.
we are building a children’s library in every state in Nigeria and we would like to develop a reading culture among the children.
This library will be a great source of information for these underprivileged kids.
These kids loves to kids but cannot afford books of their own.
Any kinds of books you donate will go a long way in achieve this purpose.
Thanks
Nguzo
September 27th, 2011 at 2:42 pm
RN started accepting Medical/Nursing Textbooks from a local University Bookstore. At first had no idea where I’d send them. Now, have so many interested non-profits in Africa I’m soliciting for more donations. I cannot pay for shipping but perhaps my non-profits can do so. They sometimes have containers they are filling up on port cities. Medical/Nursing Texts only. Thanks.
October 13th, 2011 at 10:20 pm
[...] Where can I donate books? | for.theloveofbooks.comMar 20, 2009 Donating your books can be a wonderful way to make a difference to a non-profit organization, even [...]
October 25th, 2011 at 10:25 am
[...] by donating your already read books to charities or establishments. Here is a site that lists where to donate your books and here is a charity that is always in need of [...]
November 16th, 2011 at 4:38 pm
Hope you can help me. Do you know of anybody in the LA/West LA/ Santa Monica areas that would love to have about 8 boxes of hardcover books. They are in good condition – and represent a fine cross section of well known authors. Please let me know.
Steve
310 829 0611
November 21st, 2011 at 10:29 pm
WANTED: Children’s board books
I am a third grade teacher who is practicing to be a school librarian. I am starting a program for at-risk students who have younger pre-school aged siblings at home. The goal is for students to read board books to their younger siblings, to ensure they are exposed to books prior to starting kindergarten. If you have board books, please send them to Evendale Elementary 220 Rosa Lane Winchester, VA 22602, attn. Mrs. Sikora.
Your books will be appreciated by many deserving students for years to come!
December 1st, 2011 at 3:52 pm
You can donate books to us! We are in the Washington, DC area and need all kinds of books. We have a home pickup service. We are indeed a non-profit organization.
Visit our website for more info: http://www.booksforamerica.org
Cheers,
Steve Hersey
Founder & President
Books for America
December 2nd, 2011 at 7:09 am
Hi,
You can donate your books to secondbooks.in and from there ur books will be donated to needy people.
You can also join us.
December 6th, 2011 at 6:24 pm
KO FOUNDATION is a relief, development and advocacy organisation. Please Make a real difference to help a whole community leap out of poverty in a sustainable way. Help fight poverty by supporting K O Foundation to support communities in need by donating youR book.Your donation will surely go a long way.
December 31st, 2011 at 11:43 am
Donated books benefit the Los Angeles county affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the cure. They have Drop-off locations and offer a free pickup.
January 22nd, 2012 at 10:59 pm
Dear Sir/Madam,
Good day!
I am in support of our church (Christian) in Tagaytay City and Quezon City Philippines of which I my self had organized projects for children and youth since 1986. At the moment, I am organizing projects to share knowledge through book library in drug rehabilitation, prison and church library. In this regard, may I seek your kind consideration for me to get donations of library books that we can put to our in house and mobile library.
I am lso help in the gathering of information related to livelihood books, cancer prevention and health related books and magazine.
Hoping to get your positive prompt reply.
Regards,
Denis Salvatierra
Address: Apartment-C T.M. Bay Street, Maharlika West
Tagaytay City 4120 Philippines
February 7th, 2012 at 11:04 am
I am a former teacher in New Jersey. I have some dictionaries and skill books I would like to donate to someone. Is there a place in my area where I can donate these books?
February 11th, 2012 at 4:35 am
Good day
Would like to know where i can donate some books?
February 27th, 2012 at 2:27 am
Prisons are a bad idea. Many receipts with personal information often gets stuffed ( bookmarks ) in books and forgotten. Scribbled notes and phone numbers can also be inadvertantly left in, giving a prisoner with more than enough time, to piece you together.
June 30th, 2012 at 5:20 pm
Books to prison is not a bad idea at all. It’s actually a great idea. Prisoners need to read too! They need to keep their brains busy bc being idle is not good for anyone. Idleness can cause more trouble in the long run. Just make sure your book are clean before you send them.