What Should I Do With My Old Books? 7 International Organizations and a Donation Guide

My book donations have always gone to the library. Every year, I’d do a quick check to see if the donation box was out yet, and I’d call in, ask what they needed, and drop off a bag of books. I’m fortunate enough to have access to a well-funded library – one that is even willing to request books my region doesn't have from other places in the state, but I understand that many libraries aren’t funded or managed well enough to do that.

As writers, we tend to have a lot of books, especially those of us fortunate enough to be able to spend on them. If you’re here, then reading has probably made some sort of difference in your life, and there are many ways to use your gently used books to pass that on to someone who may not have access to those books otherwise.

Fair warning, a lot of these charities deliver books across different parts of America, or the world, and there’s a good chance finding a place to drop them off or paying for shipping could be a barrier, too. 

    A friendly reminder, also: don’t show up anywhere with a giant box of books! Always call in and make sure your books are what they need in good condition.    
Resources

• If you’re American, the first place I recommend you look on your donation journey is donationtown.org, which partners up with other charities and helps you find a home for your book. The biggest upside of this is that they pick up books at your house to take to a warehouse for your charity of choice.
• Local homeless shelters, women’s homes, and children's hospitals are a great place to call in and ask if they could use your books–and it’s a great way to give back to those in your community that could use reading material.
• There are many American organizations to donate books to those in prison. Many of these organizations have very specific guidelines on what material they accept, but if you have the means to drive out to a donation site, or sift through books that abide by these guidelines,  it’s an incredibly worthy cause and can make a world of impact to an incarcerated person.

Organizations You Can Mail To

• Books Through Bars allows you to mail books to them, and from there, the books will go to those in prison.
• Kids Need to Read has you mail books to their Arizona facility (or drop off if you happen to live there).
• Operation Paperback has you ship books to soldiers overseas. All you have to do is send them the genres you have, and they’ll match you up with soldiers and you can ship your books to them.
• Books for Africa has you mail books to their warehouse, from where they go to all 55 countries in Africa. If sending books to parts of Africa that may not have as much access to literature–especially foreign literature–is important to you, they’re a good place to donate. If you live near either of their warehouses, you can drop them off too!
• IEI Pakistan accepts mailed books (and stationary!) to spaces where children could use them to learn and enrich learning.

Organizations With Dropboxes

• France has Libraries Without Borders where you can either leave books at collection spots in the Paris region or wait for your local bookstore’s donation window to leave there.
• Better World Books supports various international charities and has donation sites in the UK and US, and it’s not a bad idea to drive out to one, or even gather your friends with books to donate and make an afternoon out of it.

Being American, I have a better idea of American charities (I’ve included those I may donate to this season), but I’ve tried my best to include reputable charities from other parts of the world as well.   

Stuti Desai

​is a high school student in New Jersey. They like (in no particular order) books, music, science, history, running, and (of course) writing and are always up to learn something new! Find them on Instagram at @writing_stoot.
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