Heres the deal, I have about 100+ assorted textbooks collected over the years, most of which are quite useless. Stuff like Computer textbooks from 30 years ago. I know I can always thrown them away but it always seemed a waste of paper to me. Is there anything more productive I can do to get rid of them?
Do a yard sale type thing and offer them free to anyone who wants them. Some old textbooks are actually useful and/or interesting. You might be surprised.
Julie
Would they be of any use in the reference section of your local library if you were to donate them?
Does your area allow for the recycling of books in any way? I mean, they are paper…I would imagine some sort of recycling would be worth it.
Worst case senario: Sell 'em on eBay for a few bucks.
Good luck.
A used bookstore might want 'em. Call ahead before you lug them down there, though.
Burn them. Literature makes the best fire.
If they’re still semi-current (and keep in mind, depending on the professor and how lazy they are, “current” might be 1974), I’d at least make the attempt to sell them on Ebay/Half/Amazon and get some cash for em.
Not ALL of them are 30 years old. Most of them are the rather generic, crappy Learn Java/Database/.NET/Web design in 21 days type books from about 3 - 5 years ago. I don’t really relish making a list of all 100 of them just so I can post them on ebay, is there any place where I can just dump them for a bit of cash?
Generic textbooks on computer topics that are already out of date? Your library will almost certainly not want them–even my library (and it’s a sad one) doesn’t accept that kind of thing. A prison might. A used bookstore probably won’t, but you could call around and ask. What you likely have there is a large pile of nearly-useless paper.
I’m not sure if this exists everywhere, but my local library takes donations for its huge warehouse sale, whose proceeds benefit the library. I’m pretty sure you can donate the whole lot, and maybe even get a tax deduction for your trouble. Just swing by your library and ask about it.
You could try…
www.bookcrossing.com
Did you design the thread title to make Dopers wince?
Give them away, if you can’t sell them. Just leave them in a box marked “free” at the bottom of your driveway (on a non-rainy day).
Try selling them on eBay
**1. **Drill a couple of small holes in the cover of the books.
2 Plant a seed or seedling of a tree in the hole.
3 Might have to add a pinch of seed starter dirt. ( very light weight. Potting soil is too heavy for seeds.)
4Water as usual.
In spring, have a curb side plant sale. Then the plants and book can be planted into the ground where they decompose on their own over time.
(glossy paged books or mags won’t work.)
It is a nice reusuable alternative to the garbage bin.
I moved about three years ago. I had to get rid of over a thousand books. A local library took quite a few, but not all
The stuff my library wouldn’t take was exactly that kind of stuff. Obsolete textbooks and so on. There’s pretty much nothing you can do with that. Do you have a fireplace? They might make great kindling.
See if there is an AAUW (American Association of University Women) bookdrop anywhere in your town. That’s what I do with most of my “read-once” books.
(Personal preference: I don’t really like dealing withe used bookstores. I’d rather just give them away. But check Ebay for prices on any you think may be useful. I recently found out that a knitting book I was going to donate was going for $50 or $60 on Ebay! I traded it to another knitter for a cone of lace-weight wool!)