Friday, March 22, 2024

Where To Donate College Textbooks

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Ways To Get Rid Of Your Old Textbooks

College students donate books to school

Every semester, students are confronted with many necessary evils, one of them being the outrageous price for textbooks. Unfortunately getting textbooks is unavoidable unless you happen to get lucky and find a PDF online . If this is not an option for you, then you are forced to consider some alternatives: renting used, buying used, eBooks, or if you must, buying new.

While we as students cant avoid purchasing textbooks for the semester, we dont have to be suffocated by piles of old textbooks at the end of the year we can do quite a few things with them! There are three main options you can consider when wanting to part ways with your old textbook friends: donate, sell, or recycle.

Have you been staring at a pile of textbooks, not knowing what to do with them after your semester ended? Worry not, I got your back. Check out my comprehensive guide below on how to get rid of your old textbooks and potentiallyput a little cash back in your pocket!

Image by Alicia Geigel via Canva.com

So What To Do With Old Books

The amount of waste generated from old textbooks is astounding. I bet you were not expecting those kinds of numbers, right? However, all the statistics mentioned above do not mean recycling textbooks is inconsequential. Quite the opposite!

These findings demand response and radical change of behavior in our purchasing and discarding of books. What we can start with is to pause before throwing anything away, especially books. The next step is to understand is how we can dispose of them in a way that will either prolong their life or end it in an eco-friendly way.

Host A Dropbox On Your Campus

Are you a faculty/staff member on campus? Hosting a dropbox is a great way to champion social impact on your campus.

All you need to do is say yes, and well handle the rest! The first step is finding a good location for a dropbox. Next, the Textbooks for Change team will do all of the marketing and clear the bin every few weeks .

Enable your students and staff to donate used textbooks they no longer need.

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Local Book Donation And Recycling Guide

  • Where to donate books in New York?

If you want to donate books in NYC, you can do it directly to bookstores such as Freebird Books & Goods, Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, Unnameable Books, Westsider Rare & Used Books Inc., and many more. You can search the bookstores addresses and phone numbers in Google, call them, and ask for details. You can also offer your used books to public libraries in New York or try to resell them with the help of BookScouter if they are in good condition.

  • Where can I make book donations in the Chicago area?

Bookstores such as Open Books , Uncharted Books, Book Driver, Bernies Book Bank, and many more accept books as donations in Chicago. Depending on your district, you can check book donation drop-off locations by Better World Books or give them away to Chicago Books for Women in Prison or The Newberry . Make sure to call the former in advance, as they dont accept drop-offs. With the latter, consider it as an option if you have valuable books that you feel generous to give away, as the library donations of items that will extend, strengthen, and complement the librarys collection.

  • Where to donate books in Los Angeles?
  • Where to recycle books in Los Angeles?
  • Where to donate books in Minneapolis?
  • Where to donate books in San Jose?
  • Where to donate books in Houston?
  • Where to donate books in New Jersey?
  • Where to donate books in Boston?

Other Places That Take Books Or Media

Book donations needed for Will County Back to School Fair!

Non-Macalester-affiliated community members: We cannot accept donations from outside the immediate Macalester community, but there are several places in the Twin Cities which can make good use of your items. Please see the following websites for complete information on what items are accepted and how to donate.

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It Starts With Your Donation

The simple act of donating your used post-secondary textbook creates a positive impact for students around the world.

Which textbooks can be donated?

  • University and college textbooks published in the last 15 years
  • Study guides, course packs, foreign language textbooks and other material that assists in the studying process

We cannot accept high school books, magazines, academic journals, badly damaged books, or entertainment books. Our partners are unable to make use of this material. We recommend reaching out to your local thrift store or public library.

Local Museums & Other Cultural Organizations

If any of your books have historical or cultural significance , reach out to local museums, historical societies, higher-education institutions, and performing arts groups to gauge their interest. Such organizations collect books relevant to their areas of study or interest, both for the benefit of the general public and historical research. Theyre more likely to take good care of valuable or notable books than mass-market thrift shops and charitable buyers too.

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New York City Libraries

New York City libraries will consider accepting most types of books and textbooks from donors, assuming the items are in good condition and the library staff thinks the donated books are appropriate for the library’s circulating collection. However, the library does warn it has limited space and cannot accept all donations.

Before donating to the library, reach out to your local branch to find out if the books you want to donate meet their requirements. Be prepared to share the titles and condition of the books you wish to donate. If the library wants the books you have, donate them. If the library is unable to house the books, consider making a donation to another organization that may be in need of the titles you have. To find a list of public library branches, visit the New York Public Library website.

Your Neighborhood Little Free Library

How to donate old books || My Educated India

If you have a modest number of books to offload, drop them off at a Little Free Library in your neighborhood. Little Free Library is a network of small drop boxes erected by regular people across the country where others are free to grab or donate their old books.

Its an excellent way to recycle an old read of your own and pick up a new one while youre at it. Just ensure the types of books you donate to the Little Free Library have mass reading appeal. These boxes arent the place for old manuals, college textbooks, or reference books. Save those for used bookstores, where you can trade them in for cash.

Use Little Free Librarys map function to find active locations near you, bearing in mind that most dont have the capacity for dozens of new books at once.

If your neighborhood doesnt have a Little Free Library and youre willing to invest some time and money to start one, check out Little Free Librarys startup guide. The advantage of starting your own is the ability to seed it with as many of your old books as it can hold.

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Providing Access To Educational Material

Weve met and interviewed hundreds of students, professors, and librarians to assess the need for educational material for institutions and individuals.

In East Africa, there is a rapidly increasing student population but university budgets continue to be unpredictable. On top of this, students continue to face internet access and connectivity issues.

We partner with under-resourced universities to donate textbooks to their libraries. Libraries multiply the impact of our donations, providing everyone with the ability to learn.

I have been a librarian for 8 years, but I have never seen an organization send a representative to our university to ask us what types of books we want. Most of the time they just give us what is not useful in their place. We really appreciate the work that you have done.

– Rhoda

Send Them To Your Local Book

In Los Angeles, where I live, theres an amazing service called Re-Book It. Its a free community project out of the also amazing place called The Last Bookstore. They offer free pickup throughout Los Angeles county, and donations benefit libraries, schools, at-risk children, hospitals, and the Last Bookstore. Basically, they do all the work for you and your books are put to good use by people who really know and love used books.

Whats your Re-Book It? It might be a book drive through a local church, library, school, or volunteer organization. And you can always check Better World Books, which has drop boxes across the country. To date, 20.5 million books have been donated, 237.6 million have been reused or recycled, and $23.7 million raised in the name of literacy projects. Amen to that.

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Send Them To The Dogs

Yes, dogs. In small efforts across the country, animal shelters and other dog-friendly organizations are connecting canines, kids, and books to help all involved. At the Humane Society of Missouri, for one, the Shelter Buddies Reading Program gets kids ages 6 to 15 to read to shelter dogs, as a way of getting the dogs ready for adoption. On the flip side, Reading Education Assistance Dogs programs, based on a model out of Intermountain Therapy Animals in Salt Lake City, Utah, connect children who have difficulties reading with therapy dogs, under the premise that children will find reading to an animal less intimidating and a more positive experience overall. In Connecticut, Jill Greto and Jennifer DeGraaf donated books to support the Read with Me program out of Pet Partners, a local dog therapy organization that pairs therapy dogs with struggling readers. Jennifer and her dog, Beau, also took part in reading with the kids.

What About Books In Poor Condition

Vacation Bible School campers donate books to troops

Sometimes, books are beyond donating. If they’re too waterlogged, faded, or torn apart to read, books can be upcycled into some pretty clever things, or they can be recycled.

In Chicago, paperback books can be recycled straight in the blue cart. For hardback books, the covers need to be removed before the pages can be recycled.

Wondering what else can be recycled in your Blue Cart? View the guide.

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Tax Information For Donors

Upon request, Smith College Libraries will provide a written acknowledgment to verify donations. For information about tax treatment of your donation, please consult with a qualified tax professional or the Internal Revenue Service.

To find an appraiser consult one of these resources:

The Six Ways If You Think What To Do With Old Textbooks

The first obvious thing to do with older textbooks is donate them. To find out what kind of value your used textbooks have, run each ISBN through the sell books online tool on the internet to see what they hold. Keep in mind that various factors will affect how much your used textbooks are worth. Some people dont even bother checking the ISBN, and others value their textbooks so much theyll pay more than their actual cost. In these cases, you may only get a tiny bit of money for your old textbooks, but you should still give them a second look before donating. You may be surprised at the turnaround time youll get on your textbooks donation.

Donating your old textbooks online has become incredibly popular over the past few years. It has also become easier for average people like you and me to donate. Online charities accept donations of all types, large and small, big and small, and worldwide. The biggest problem with donating is figuring out what to do with the books once you donate them, so this section will also go over some tips for making online donations.

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Vietnam Veterans Of America

Pickup Please is a donation pickup service that will collect your used books right from your home to help The Vietnam Veterans of America. The Veterans of America sells your donated books to private companies by annual bid that generates funding to support the programs of the Vietnam Veterans of America.

Donate Books To Charity Free Nationwide Book Donation Pick Up

What to Do With Old Edition Textbooks

Give the gift of literacy when you donate your used books to charity. So many of us have books piling up in corners, lining up along the floor, stacked in piles on desks, overflowing from our bookshelves. Help get your old or gently used books in the hands of people who need them by donating your used books to charity. Your used book donations can help a young child learn to love to read. Donating used books can support adult literacy programs, too. From seniors to young children, from the homeless to incarcerated populations, from your next-door neighbor to your neighbor halfway around the world everyone benefits when you donate used books to charity.

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Why We Need Solutions

It may come as a shock to you that within less than 18 years, our landfills will reach their maximum capacity. Books can contribute a large amount of waste if they are simply thrown out.

The worst part is that books should not be considered waste! Books are resources and can be life changing. Books can easily be given a new life whether thats by donating them to someone in need or by reusing books for new purposes.

Housing Works Bookstore Cafe

The inventory of Housing Works Bookstore Cafe consists entirely of donated books and other media . The store will welcome your donation of gently used books in good condition. Not only do they take fiction and nonfiction reading material, they will also take textbooks that are less than a year old. All of the bookstore’s profits go to support the work of Housing Works, which helps those who have HIV/AIDS and are in need of assistance with health care, housing, legal assistance, job training and more.

To donate to the Bookstore Cafe take the books you want to donate to the store . Donations are typically accepted from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. during the week and 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Note that the store sometimes closes for special events, so it’s advisable to call ahead of time to verify that they’ll be open before heading over there with a stack of books to donate.

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At Nanies Reading Club There Is No Membership Borrowers Card Or Id Required One May Keep The Books Or Return Them

I encourage sharing with their neighbors when they are done, Nanie explains. One wonders what is to stop anyone from taking all the books? Nanie shakes his head and assures us: The books have multiplied. he has no idea how many books are in his possession, but there are easily 2,000 or 3,000 on the shelves and in the boxes stacked outside his front door. And thats before you move inside, where books are rapidly encroaching into every available space. You can hardly get into the front room, the car has long since been moved out of the garage, and books are even stacked all the way up the stairs.

Mang Nanie Guanlaos Reading Club 2000

WHERE TO FIND AND DONATE:

Contact person: Hernando Guanlao

Find A Ontario Charity That Will Pick Up Your Clothing Donations & Other Household Items Donations

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Donate clothes and other household items in Ontario. Charities such as Ontario Federation for Cerebral Palsy, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and more will pick up your donations for free.

Donationtown.org is currently integrating all of the Ontario donation pick up charities and service areas into our database. For now, we recommend you contact one of these great Ontario based charities to schedule a donation pick up:

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Best Places To Donate Used Books

If youre embarking on a that necessitates some literary victims, you shouldnt have any trouble finding legitimate organizations willing to accept your old books. Some operate physical shops or warehouses with drop-off locations, possibly within easy reach of your house, while others operate remotely and take books shipped by mail.

Books For Africa Does Not Accept:

  • Encyclopedia sets
  • Magazines or journals of any kind, including academic journals.
  • Home decorating or wedding books.
  • Cookbooks.
  • Ethnocentric books, such as the biography of Abraham Lincoln or the history of Ohio.
  • Foreign language books except for French books. French novels and dictionaries are welcome.
  • American history or civics.
  • Music books for K12.
  • Murder mysteries or anything with kill, die, murder, etc. in the title.

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Bonus #24 Ask Your Friends And Family

Sometimes your friends and family members may be happy to take some of your used books off your hands. Ive given away some of my used books to family members before. So if you have a family member or friend who loves to read, why not ask them if theres anything theyre interested in reading before you donate them elsewhere.

General Books / Novels

College students donate thousands of books to grateful kids

1. Local Friends of the Library

Most libraries have a Friends of the Library group that helps to raise money for the library. They collect used books and then sell them to help the library with their fundraising.

Typically, books that are newer are preferred, but it is hard to generalize since each group is different. You will need to call your local library to see if they have such a program and any specific criteria they have for what they accept.

In addition, my local library has specific book drive times where they actively solicit donations, but you can donate at any time.

I’m personally a big fan of my local library and my kids and I go generally once a week. Because I feel it helps a place I already patronize this is my personal favorite place to donate old books.

2. Books for Africa

Books for Africa is a non-profit that collects gently used novels written within in the last 15 years and textbooks that have been published since 1998 and ships them to Africa.

I’ve provided a link to their website for more specifics of what they do and do not accept as donations, plus information on how to get your donations to them.

They collect book donations by drop off at either their Atlanta, GA office or their St. Paul, MN warehouse. You will need to pay for the shipping to get the books to their offices if you dont live near a drop off location.

3. Better World Books

They even pay for you to ship your books to them when you register a donation on their website here.

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