Old Textbooks?

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Started 1 year ago by Ox
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Ox
Member

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do with old textbooks?

I'm a compulsive hoarder that's been working on my problem for 15 years. I've hung on to a lot of papers from high school and college and a lot of textbooks from college since I had to purchase them. I graduated from college 15 years ago in another state so the textbooks I have aren't in use at any of the area colleges here and probably are no longer in use at all. They also have been written in extensively since, as a hoarder, I thought I'd keep them forever. I'm pretty sure the local used bookstores wouldn't take them and they don't even show up in swaptree's database. Should I dump them on Goodwill or the library? Freecycle? Or should they just be thrown in the garbage? Specifically I'm wanting to part with textbooks from my French class, if that matters. Any suggestions are welcome.

Posted 1 year ago #
Nithy
Member

I work at a library in a college town. We have a book sale twice a year, and we do get textbooks donated. I don't know how well they sell, especially the old ones. Something to consider: The odds are good that nobody else really needs your 15-year-old textbooks, so if you do donate your books to Goodwill or the library, they may just be going into another hoarder's collection.

Posted 1 year ago #
Lori Paximadis
Member

Most libraries have book sales of donated books once in a while to raise money, and (around here at least) many collage and other artists will scour them for older books to use in their art. While some may shudder at that idea, at least they're being used for something other than filling up the landfill. Unless your library states that they don't want textbooks older than XX years for their sale, donate them there, take the writeoff, and be done with it.

French textbooks don't get nearly as dated as, say, science textbooks, so there's always the chance that someone wanting to learn the language will pick them up and be happy to have them, too. I've done exactly that a couple of times over the years to get an overview in a new subject or one I need a refresher on (e.g., world history, when I started doing a lot more editing work in that field).

Posted 1 year ago #
kllycat
Member

You could ask a local homeschooling association if they want them, especially if it's a subject that doesn't get very dated, like French.

Posted 1 year ago #
BettyBoop
Member

Better World Books (http://www.betterworldbooks.com/) is a great organization that collects donated books, sells them online, and then donates the money to literacy initiatives. They have book drop boxes all over the country, so you might want to check them out to see if there's a donation box near you.

Posted 1 year ago #
luxcat
Member

I would google "sell textbooks" and see what pops up. there are several sites out there that you can type in the ISBN # and see if the books are still usable/sellable today. I know when I was in college many of my professors liked older textbooks (especially for certain topics like art) and had us purchase those. If they are science or computer textbooks, I would probably recycle them as paper.

Posted 1 year ago #
charmed2482
Member

I put a mine and my boyfriend's old text books on Book mooch and so far I've gotten rid of all but one of them, so the got a new home. I doubt you could sell them, but someone might want them. I don't think most libraries or thrift stores will be able to sell them. At the very least maybe put it in the recycle bin and make sure it gets recycled. The goodwill I used to work for would recycle books they couldn't sell so maybe a thrift store can recycle it, you could call around and ask if they take books for salvage, they get a few cents a lbs from them, which ads up fast since books are heavy.

Posted 1 year ago #
ValH
Member

I would personally bring them to the library bookstore. I have bought used textbooks at ours and have really benefited from that. It is a nice resource when you find something you want to study.

Posted 1 year ago #
chacha1
Member

Definitely really depends on a) your geographic area and b) the condition of the books. If you wouldn't want to buy it new (i.e. all marked-up), nobody else is going to want to buy it used.

In L.A., Goodwill won't take nonfiction, much less textbooks. They can't sell these, and don't have a paper-recycling arm here, so they won't accept them. I only give nonfiction to our library's Friends store, and then only if it's in near-perfect condition.

One day soon I hope to be decluttering 8 linear feet of DH's textbooks (from THIRTY years ago!). They will be going straight into the dumpster.

Posted 1 year ago #
pkilmain
Member

Hmmmm, our library/friends group will not take textbooks more than about 5 years old. I have heard though that you can take off the hard covers and recycle the paper, which is a little better than throwing away the whole thing! If I'm taking a class I always try to get a used textbook....

Posted 1 year ago #
whattotrash
Member

recycle them and be free!

Posted 1 year ago #
trillie
Member

Hrm, selling and donating has been covered... So I'm going to suggest equally fun stuff :o)
* In another thread someone suggested making a secret hollow book
* Neatorama just recently featured Paper rings made from books
* You could make lamps like these from old books
* Or a counter or table maybe
* Or you could use pages from old books as wallpaper

:o)

Posted 1 year ago #
erksh
Member

They are garbage.

Quite thinking about them and throw them away.

Give yourself the gift of mental and physical space.

Posted 1 year ago #
luxcat
Member

check here to see if they have any value, and if they do not, then recycle them

http://bookscouter.com/

when I was in college some professors had us use older textbooks for certain classes like art history, etc and because they were out of print they could be expensive and hard to find. but if the link above says "value 0"... recycle them like paper.

Posted 1 year ago #
rueishness
Member

My brother has been hoarding these things as well. Every once in a while he gets rid of a few by taking them to a local used bookstore. He usually gets a little bit of money for them (though of course not a lot). You could always call to see if they would accept them.

You might also try calling some textbook stores in your area. There was one in my college town that if they couldn't buy it back, they would give you $1 per book and recycle it for you.

If you can't find anywhere to accept them, I'd simply give up the battle and recycle them.

Posted 1 year ago #
RobinW
Member

The local community college here collects textbooks to send to third world nations. There is still a lot of valuable information to be learned from a older text book.

Posted 1 year ago #
lottielot
Member

they make excellent doorstops :) My big chemistry books prop my bedroom door open (all our doors are on self-closers) and when the kids were little they used them to reach the light switches.
I think it really depends on the subject and the textbook, my cousin gave me a stack of old psychology books and they are really out of date and aren't suitable for my courses, I haven't opened any of them so donated almost all of them. Most papers I can find online, even my course books I have on PDFs on my e-reader.

Posted 1 year ago #
themusiclivez
Member

My local library does not accept textbooks as donations. If the books are 15 years old I would recommend finding a way to recycle them. My textbooks from year to year in college would be considered "outdated" so I would assume that these would be as well. The best thing to do, in my opinion, is make sure that they don't end up in a landfill and see if they can be recycled!

My sister sells her books on half.com, but right after her college semester ends so that she can get the best value for them.

Let us know what you decide to do - I would be curious to know becaue I have some friends who also want to find a place to get rid of their old textbooks!

Posted 1 year ago #
sjwilde
Member

No one wants them. If anyone did, you would have found a market for them. Don't waste energy taking or sending them anywhere. See if your local garbage company recycles them with paper, otherwise throw them in the trash. If you make a moral issue out of getting rid of things, you'll never unclutter.

Posted 1 year ago #
onedersara
Member

I also recommend googling places to sell textbooks. Last summer I finally ditched all my college books, and made over $100 even 8 years out of school. It took a bit of work comparing a few different sites, and some of them did only go to Better World for a buck or two, but it was worth the time to me. They all give you free shipping labels too.

Posted 1 year ago #

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