WANT TO DONATE SOME STUFF TO YOUR LIBRARY?
I have a few tips:
- Are they textbooks? Please donate them to the International
Book Project because they are worthless to your library and will just get tossed or recycled.
- Are they encyclopedias? Again, please consider donating them to the IBP, if they are fairly
recent. If they are more than 5 years old, but less than 10, we might be able to sell them. More than that?
You are welcome to put them in our dumpster, because about the only places printed encyclopedias
are sold these days is to libraries
- Did they come from a book club like the Science Fiction Book Club? Those books are usually a
bargain because they are poorly bound. Your library might not accept them because they aren't up to the strain
of circulating.
- Are they OLD? Mind you, “old” doesn't necessarily mean they are valuable.
If they are first editions and signed by the author, they may have some value. Which leads me to…
- Have they been in your basement for any length of time? Do they SMELL like a basement?
That means they are probably moldy! so feel free to put them in our dumpster, which is where we'll be
putting them later. Moldy books are unhealthy books.
- Are they damaged in any way? Torn covers, cat urine, mouse droppings,
mold/mildew, parts missing, cracked, etc? We can't sell them in that condition. The dumpster
is in the back…
- Are they magazines? Some may actually be valuable, have you checked eBay?
We might be able to sell Architectural Digest, needlework or other craft magazines. But…
- Are they professional journals? Can't sell them on eBay? The dumpster is out back …
- …or National Geographic? Everybody who wants NatGeos has some –
we can't sell them. Got a recycling bin? Or would you rather we filled up our recycling bin?
- Are they abridged, like Readers' Digest Condensed Books? Nobody wants them.
The dumpster is out back…
- Are they religious material? Have you offered them to your church? They don't want it?
Most likely the library doesn't either.
The plain fact is, most old books and magazines are worth somewhere between little
and nothing. You can trade some at a used book store, give some to friends, recycle, or
have a yard sale, but really, the fact you have saved this stuff for 20 years does not mean that
it has any actual value. If you have some nice paperbacks in like-new condition, the library can
use those. Or music, new or old, in good condition. And preferably not on tape. (We can sell a little tape, but
not much, and we don't add it to our collection.)
