Well I spoke with my son the other day and he is in Toronto quite a long way from home here in BC. I got the distinct impression that he is worried that we are getting older and sounded like he thinks we have each got one foot in the grave. He did address this in a loving and caring way and it was thinly disguised with concern about all of our 'stuff'..."So mom, why don't you start selling all your books?" And, "Dad, should sell the 5th wheel, you don't really use it much anymore"...etc..etc.

So I had visions of him shuddering at the though of both of us going on and him and his brothers having to get rid of our 'stuff'.

It did get me thinking of my book collection. I have two collections. One is true crime and the other are writing reference books.

I don't really need either collection anymore but I just hate to think of parting with them. I had been thinking maybe I could donate them to a school or something but am not sure how one goes about that.

Has anyone here disposed of large book collections? I don't want to do the Ebay thing as the cost of shipping is outrageously high here in Canada.

Do you have books you just can't part with? Any ideas as to what I can do with all these books would be most welcome.

When DH passed away, I made a major donation and did a major sale.

The large donation (which was tax-deductible) was to the Navy library in Washington, D.C. I gave over 500 fairly specialized books to the library, and they even had bookplates made for them saying "from the collection of (name)," which pleased me. I had an appraiser evaluate them for tax purposes.

The second batch of books was also large, the majority of DH's books that remained (I kept some I thought I might read or refer to). I had a secondhand book dealer come to the house, pick what they wanted, and take them away. I didn't get a lot per book (about $3, and they were work a good deal more), but it was the easiest way to handle this situation, especially not having to take boxes and boxes myself somewhere. I declared that money as income.

For smaller donations later on, such as to DS's school, or other organizations, I listed the books, totaled the value, took a percentage of that, and counted that figure on my taxes. Along with other items, I never value donated items very high, because I don't want the amount to be questioned.

By all means, find a person or organization that will appreciate and use what you have to give away. Recently, a friend with a newborn commented that she could use some parenting books. I still have some, so will give them to her when I see her in a couple of weeks.

It does make sense to regularly go through one's possessions and weed out what one is no longer using - charities regularly come to pick up our giveaways.

For me, whose great love and weakness is books, this is crucial. I hope I live long enough to read all the ones I have now. One of my intentions this year is not to buy very many. And once most of them have been read, they will be given away or (if possible) sold. I mainly want to recycle them, and finding places to sell them is getting more difficult. The dealer mentioned above won't take any fiction, or certain other categories that perhaps he figures he can't sell, or would get too many of, including parenting books.

Mainly - don't put them in the trash. They deserve better than that, unless they are old and hopelessly out of date.

simplicity I write book reviews so I know what it's like to have books everywhere. One day I took those I really could part with down to my local library. I also realize that some of my books has useful tips in them that i didnt want to lose so I copied those on to loose leaf paper and put those in a file folder in my personal 3 ring binder. Also if you have a working scanner its a pain but you can scan them and move ttem to a computer disk

I too had a tremendous collection of books when my DH died. I found out that the local library where I was living at the time would take the books. The County has strict rules about donations of books but the local library would take any that were not "within the rules" and sell them at an annual bookfair. The proceeds going to their "Childrens Craft Fund" so I was pleased with that. By the time I got through I had taken close to 30 boxes of books.

I still have a "ton" of books (mostly novels from the 1940's and 50's) to sort through and do something with, but I'll deal with that when I get to the basement. But like Simplicity says: "don't put them in the trash. They deserve better than that..."

Our library is culling its collection, prior to some remodeling. I and other neighborhood people, such as book club members, fear that the library is moving more and more to electronic media at the expense of books, and aren't happy about it. They don't want donations at the moment, but I hope they will want them later on. This is especially pertinent because the wait for requested books is getting longer, for lack of enough copies to meet demand.

IF your local library, or any library you know of, will take books, that is a great place to give them away, because so many people can take advantage of them there.

You could also sell them on Craigs list. Price them low enough and people will buy them. See how other people are presenting them and if they get sold, then write up your ad like that. Or offer them free-you-pick-up. Freecycle is another resource.

I love books, but I've pared down to just one 5-foot bookcase. I sold quite a few at my yard sale (one girl from work took *all* the Agatha Christie books), and donated the rest to a charity shop.

Elaine

Having dealt with parental belongings when they passed, I feel it's important to keep belongings limited to those we use, love or need for tax and legal purposes. Organized Forever's Toronto based son makes a good point. I certainly don't want our sons to have to cope with a houseful of stuff retained 'just in case.'

We've created our new files for 2011, discarded as much paperwork as possible, reviewed 'Clipping,' How To & Home Maintenance, and 'Travel' files and copying computer files to disc. Mid winter is a good time to review the entry closet for items that were replaced by Christmas gifts or those that make you feel frumpy so that someone else could enjoy them and be blessed by your generosity.

Hi Organized-Forever

Putting up notices "Books to a Good Home" at your local shopping center is one suggestion.

I had a similar situation trying to get rid of old textbooks. Even the second hand stores didn't want the old textbooks. It is such a shame and waste as I don't like to throw out good stuff.

The other way is to find friends and family who can make good use of these things.

Spread the word that you are donating stuff and I am sure you will find a good home for your prized collection of books.

You could also try posting on Craigslist to offer the books to people in your neighborhood.

Many libraries gladly accept donations and what they can't use, they will generally store and then sell at an annual used book sale. Every community that we have lived in has done this.

Textbooks are more difficult because, depending on the subject matter, than can be out-of-date in as little as 3-5 years. If there is a local university and the text is in use there, you might be able to advertise through their student classifieds. Otherwise, freecycle, craigslist, or used bookstores are your best bet. However if the book is truly out of date, consider the recycling center. DH and I currently have a few books set aside for recycling. If you saw our collection you would know that we don't discard books lightly, but these are books whose information is decades out of date.

I didn't know book sellers might come out to my place but will look into that.

This was great information Simplicity, thanks so much!