I mean it’s bad juju to throw books in the trash right? What’s the proper way to get rid of them? (with the least amount of effort)
if they are of decent quality a snd hand book store might take them
Depends where you are; in the UK I take them to charity shops or give them to people who would appreciate them (just a few to each person or it gets a bit overwhelming). You can also leave them out on the street in a small box with ‘free’ on the side. There are some places with free ‘library’-type places that you can leave them in, or put them in cafes/leave on trains.
I used to volunteer in Oxfam Books and it’s honestly one of the best things you can do unless you do know people who want the books obviously.
Everything is inspected and if for whatever it’s not fit to be resold (big coffee stains, or missing pages etc) it’s recycled. And then any profits go to help people in need. And we came across some genuinely rare things a few times. An edition of Shakespeare which was worth £400 or so from the 1700s was probably the most impressive - this like that get sold online.
Obviously if there’s a different charity which means something more to you even better - I honestly think it’s the best thing to do with old books these days
I don’t have a direct answer, but I will say be careful about giving them to Goodwill or what-have-you, or at least check first. I donated a mound of great contemporary books and the guy receiving them said they throw out anything that has marks on the page side or any wear on the cover.
Not to say all thrift shops toss them, but some do.
Edit: Look for local “free libraries”! Some cities will have random little boxes put up around neighbourhoods, and those won’t get scrapped.
Although i think it’s great that secondhand places are concerned about the condition of items, i feel like it’s gotten a bit ridiculous.
I’ve gotten brand new things straight from the manufacturer that were in poorer conditon than some of the things they’ve turned down. And I’m not really comfortable using craigslist or facebook marketplace or the like so i end up feelling bad about tossing perfectly fine stuff.
I think a lot of the secondhand places have problems in both directions. On one hand, it’s as you say. On the other hand, I’ve seen places that charge more than new prices for some things. One secondhand store I visited was in the same parking lot as a walmart. I looked at the t-shirts they had for sale (not fancy ones or anything) and they cost more than the brand new ones at the walmart.
Goodwill is also … objectionable, to say the least. And many alternatives fund insidious “missionary” work or anti-choice women’s housing. Check your charities closely to make sure they align with your values, whatever they may be.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodwill_Industries
https://socialistworker.org/2017/09/25/why-goodwill-goes-bad
https://www.cracked.com/article_33357_15-impressively-evil-things-goodwill-has-done.html
Check with your local library or schools to see if they accept book donations. If not, there are probably a few secondhand bookstores near you that will buy some of them from you.
This is the best way in my experience; I was able to get rid of over 20 filing boxes of books this way while helping my folks downsize their collection. It’s a small way to support your local library system, and I’ve had some excellent finds at thrift book stores/library sales over the years so it’s nice to contribute to that as well
Please check first and accept their answer if it’s a no! Do not dump your 1991 NatGeos without asking. Love, Librarians
Really? I never knew - are people starting to warm up on collecting Natgeos or has this been a thing around your neck of the woods/world for a while?
Donate to library or school if in decent condition. Recycle if not.
I worked for a library. Most books we got donated, even if they were in good condition would just get pitched. We just had no need for them.
I think that’s dependent on the library. The few libraries I’m familiar with are always happy to accept donated books and put them in circulation (as long as they’re in good condition).
It probably also depends on the book. I have tons of outdated books on obscure topics within engineering, science, and computing. I doubt anyone would check out my 1995 book on the Vi text editor from a library. Although, if I’m lucky, perhaps it could be a collectors item some day. In reality, I’m probably going to just say “thank you for helping me so many years ago” and respectfully recycle the book.
