Where to Donate Used Books You Don’t Want

If you're like me and my family, we have a lot of books around our house and during the colder months of the year, I do my annual clean-out/clear-out of things we no longer want or need.  If you also have books to clear out of your house and are wondering how and where to donate them, here are some great ideas I got thanks to moneycrashers.com.

Where to Donate Books Locally (to save on shipping costs and help local charities):

The Salvation Army (Oneonta):  You can donate to at the Thrift Store on Main St. during business hours or at their location on River St., also during business hours.
The Salvation Army accepts hardback and paperback books.

Family Service Association on Chestnut St. in Oneonta: They take donations of clothing and household goods to help local families in need.  Inquire about donating books there before making a drop-off.

Libraries: Most libraries have a Friends of the Library Society. These societies hold book sales and other fundraisers to benefit the libraries. The groups use donated books to stock library shelves or resell the books at fundraising events. Typically, library societies accept like-new and gently used book donations.

Local Thrift Stores
Local second hand thrift stores can use your donated books. Before you donate, though, check out the store’s policies; some thrift stores don’t operate as nonprofit organizations. However, you may want to donate your books to these stores just to increase the availability of affordable books in your community.
Local non-profit Thrift stores in our area include: Super Heroes in Ripped Jeans Thrift Store on South Main St., Oneonta, The Catskill Hospice (Helios Care) Thrift Store on Main St., Oneonta, The Susquehanna SPCA on Rt. 28, outside of Cooperstown.

Hold a Book Drive To Help Your Favorite Charity:
Combine books you want to get rid of and gather other unwanted books from friend, family, neighbors, etc., and send them to  Got Books?  They provide crates you can use to collect all your books, then the group purchases your used books and cuts you a check, which you can give to the charity of your choice.

Before you donate your books, check out the charity’s book donation policies. Every charity's needs are different and the organization may only take certain types of books.  That means that you may have to donate to more than one organization to relieve yourself of all unwanted books.  Remember, you can possibly get a break on your taxes with a donation of books: when you donate, get a receipt and keep track of which books you donate, as well as their condition, for tax purposes, along with an estimated value. While you do not need to submit the receipts to the IRS, it is a good idea to hang onto them to determine the size of the donations tax deduction you can claim. You may also want to have them handy in case of a tax audit.