finding a new home for used books.
Have books you’ve thanked and are ready to let go of? Here are some resources for where you may be able to find a new home for books:
san francisco bay area.
Half Priced Books (or other used bookstores) - with locations in Concord, Dublin, Berkeley and more, Half Priced Books buys back books from you. (It’s not a lot of money, but hey, it feels good to get even a little cash, or a new book, in exchange for books you no longer use.) Pre-COVID, they also accepted books they couldn’t resell and passed them along as donations. They’ll also accept some CDs, games, magazines, and electronics. Other great used book stores to look into are Pegasus in Albany or Berkeley, and Moe’s Books on Telegraph in Berkeley.
Your local library often accepts book donations in good quality. During the pandemic, many libraries are not accepting books, so check first. Contact the Librarian to find out their criteria. For example, a local high school library mostly wanted books with publication dates within the last 5 years, in very good condition, not yellowed or foxed (spotted), preferably in hardcover with dust jackets. For a school library, the books should be age and interest appropriate. Most don’t take atlases or encyclopedias as they can be found online and go out of date quickly. Most don’t want magazines. Let the Librarian know if you would like a letter with a valuation for tax purposes.
Specialized libraries such as collections at UC Berkeley and Stanford. For books in different languages or with an academic specialization, check with university libraries. UC Berkeley and Stanford have libraries organized by topic area so you can google the appropriate Librarian and email them directly. Specialty bookstores and language schools could also be places to try. For example, Moe’s Books has a rare book room, mostly art books.
The Children’s Book Project gives books to children who need them for equity in literacy, learning, and life. They aim to create a more socially just world by providing books for free to under-resourced children. Literacy attainment is directly tied to academic achievement and lifetime outcomes, yet children in economically disadvantaged communities do not have the same access to books as their more affluent peers. The Children’s Book Project is committed to closing the opportunity gap and lifting up our community by raising readers. (They'll do pickups for 250+ books, and have drop off bins throughout SF and one in Albany). (Give the location)
Prisoners Literature Project - located in San Francisco, they’ll normally accept in-person donations of any good quality books (text first) They need certain types of paperbacks in good condition to pass on to prison libraries. Nice hardbacks also are useful, especially larger, modern textbooks in current editions and other quality books. Common prisoner book requests are:
dictionaries of all kinds (including ASL sign language); thesauruses & almanacs.
how-to books: construction, gardening, drawing, etc.
books on African-American, Latino, and Native American history and culture
books on business, self-help, politics, psychology, philosophy, science, math
fiction by or about people of color
good quality detective, sci-fi & fantasy fiction paperbacks & Westerns
books on meditation, yoga, and bodyweight exercises
Magazines - Check with a retirement home, your doctor’s office, or an art class who might cut them up for the pictures. You or others may want to use them for collaging.
US nationwide resources.
Betterworldbooks.com is a certified B-Corporation and a for-profit global e-retailer that collects and sells new and used books online matching each purchase with a book donation, Book-for-Book™. Each sale generates funds for literacy and education initiatives in the UK, US, and around the world. Since its launch in 2003, Better World Books has raised more than $27 million for libraries and literacy, donated over 26 million books, and reused or recycled over 300 million books. Mail in only. Some drop-boxes available back East.
ABE Rare Books - sell used books and textbooks through ABE Rare Books. AbeBooks has partnered with TextbookRush and Ziffit to offer you a quick and easy way to sell your new and used books, including textbooks online. Use TextbookRush to earn money for used textbooks. Ziffit accepts new and used books, including hardcovers, paperbacks and more. If you have a book you think may be valuable (an old first edition, signed by the author, etc.), you can type in the title, year of publication, publisher, etc. and find similar descriptions of books for sale.
Prison Book Program - find a nation-wide list of places to donate books to prisoners.
when you can’t re-home, recycle or re-use!
Art Projects! For old books that can’t be donated, there are great art projects you can do with books. Check out Youtube or your local library for folding and carving projects with old books.
DIY Hedgehog is one you can do with children: DIY Hedgehog Book Folding
Check out beautiful works of art: I Give New Life to Old Books That I Find in Thrift Stores
You can learn to hollow out a book for hiding trinkets - a project middle schoolers love!
Recycle: Disposing of books into recycling or the garbage is a rather sad thing for book lovers, but sometimes a book is too old or damaged to reuse. If it is a paperback, you can put it in paper recycling. If it is a hard cover, rip the cover and spine off the book - that will go into the garbage. The pages can go into the recycling.
Reuse tip: I have seen the spines used to create a faux library wall inside an elevator or on the wall of a restaurant. You create the shelves from wood moulding or a cardboard or paper equivalent. Then glue spines on the shelves to create an illusion of a library.
*This resource guide was created in collaboration with Certified KonMari Consultant Jenna Carlsson and local Librarian Kathryn Levenson.