Donating or selling used books
I am in the process of dismantling the estates of two family members with BIG personal libraries, probably a few thousand books total in two locations. They range from fiction (mostly paperbacks) to academic (social sciences). They have been picked over somewhat, so most of the truly valuable items are gone, but I'm sure there's still value there for someone who wants to go through them (not me). I have managed to donate or sell a few boxes here and there, but at this rate it will take years to clean them all out. Any recommendations for places that would take books in bulk like this for resale or donation? I would love to donate them e.g, for library book sales, but many libraries are already overwhelmed and aren't taking donations at this time.
Parent Replies
Have you considered donating to the Prison Literacy Project? http://www.prisonlit.org
There are a couple drop off locations in Berkeley---they sort and send free books to prisoners. I only gave them three bags full, not sure if they have an upper limit but may be worth a shot?
Try to check with the local Friends of the Library. They may have capacity to take them or send you towards other local groups.
I went through this exact same thing with my aunts estate. I lived in Texas at the time, but had a used bookstore who paid me for the small amount they wanted and donated the rest for me. The hard part was lugging all the books there. Maybe you could check a local used book store who could help you. Have you already had an estate sale? If not, maybe do that first so people come to you and you don’t have as much to pack up
Try calling Moe’s Books in Berkeley. When I was cleaning out my parents house they sent someone over to look over the extensive book collection. They bought a small fraction of the books. The vast majority were donated to Goodwill. It is very hard to sell and even donate books these days.
Contact Friends of the Library in Marin. They sell used books at stores in San Rafael and Novato (perhaps elsewhere). They may be willing to pick up the load, even across the Bay.
There may be similar groups in the East Bay, call libraries near you and ask.
Hi there, please consider donating them all to the Friends of the Oakland Public Library. They are the only nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting all Oakland Public Libraries by selling donated books at their quality used bookstore in Old Oakland, called the Bookmark. They are located at 721 Washington St and open 7 days a week. Their phone number is 510-444-0473
If it is a collection -- i.e. "Feminist Fiction from the 70s" or some other category, you might be able to donate it to an academic library. You could check with the librarians at the Bancroft Library. Miscellaneous books are hard to sell or donate, as others have said.
It sounds like the original poster had already been in touch with Friends of local libraries and learned the sad truth – they have a surfeit of books for their bookstores, have gotten selective about what they accept, and aren’t about to take on thousands more, especially collections that have been picked over. You’d have to go through the effort of selecting the type of books they are interested in; it certainly won’t be all of them. Likewise, Prison Literacy Project is seeking specific types of books, and doesn’t want to be overwhelmed with a collection of irrelevant volumes. One place that hasn’t been mentioned is Oakland Museum’s White Elephant sale; you could call them to see if they are open to picking up your large collections. I suspect they will react similarly to libraries, but it might be worth a try.
You could also try Treehorn Books in Santa Rosa (707) 596-3845 and ask them to put you in touch with the owner; he lives in Berkeley and could stop by to look at your collection. He took about $300 worth when I had to disburse a friend’s estate. The final and most effective way of getting the rest off our hands in bulk was to advertise them for free on Craigslist. A few photos helps, as does rough categorization (fiction, non-fiction - by type if possible).
The Oakland Museum White Elephant Sale takes books. Try contacting their website for donation procedures.