Ask an Eco-Expert: What Can I Do With My Old Books?

How Can I Dump These Old Books?

There is something sophisticated about surrounding yourself with a bunch of old books. The sight of stacks and stacks of books triggers thoughts of intelligence and worldliness. This is why lawyers stand in front of full book shelves in their commercials rather than a monitor with Lexis Nexis on the screen.

Eventually though, all those books become a nuisance. They take up a lot of space and God forbid you ever have to box them up to move to a new home. But what are you supposed to do with all of those old dusty books once you’re done with them?

• Start with the website Bookcrossing, where you can input the ISBN number and title of your book, then choose a location where you are leaving the book (freeing it!) so other people can come and claim it. When they do, they’ll notify the site so you can track where it is, how far its gone and how many owners it gains.
• There are other websites where you can post the books you’re disposing of and you will gain credits whenever you send a book to an interested person. These credits are used to select books from other members for yourself…FREE! One great site is PaperBackSwap
• Of course you can always sell your books on eBay or Amazon
• You can also take your book to a local used book store where they will either give you money or credit for it.
• Plenty of places would love to receive your books as donations. Make sure you are including books in good shape that people would actually want to read. Bring them to thrift stores, libraries, schools, etc. Just call ahead of time and make sure they have a demand for books. Many of these places have their own book sales every year to raise extra money.

Photo Credit: CC-licensed by Flickr user guldfisken