I mean it’s bad juju to throw books in the trash right? What’s the proper way to get rid of them? (with the least amount of effort)

  • SirElliott@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Check with your local library or schools to see if they accept book donations. If not, there are probably a few secondhand bookstores near you that will buy some of them from you.

    • PostmodernPythia@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Please check first and accept their answer if it’s a no! Do not dump your 1991 NatGeos without asking. Love, Librarians

    • DonnieDarkmode@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      This is the best way in my experience; I was able to get rid of over 20 filing boxes of books this way while helping my folks downsize their collection. It’s a small way to support your local library system, and I’ve had some excellent finds at thrift book stores/library sales over the years so it’s nice to contribute to that as well

  • Fartbutt@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I don’t have a direct answer, but I will say be careful about giving them to Goodwill or what-have-you, or at least check first. I donated a mound of great contemporary books and the guy receiving them said they throw out anything that has marks on the page side or any wear on the cover.

    Not to say all thrift shops toss them, but some do.

    Edit: Look for local “free libraries”! Some cities will have random little boxes put up around neighbourhoods, and those won’t get scrapped.

  • SWIM@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Make a little library on your front lawn and fill it up,before you know it they will be gone and people will have put others in its place.

    • Bakachu@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Love these! We have one in my neighborhood and it’s pretty convenient to drop off my read pile in there.

  • ed_cock@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    it’s bad juju to throw books in the trash right?

    The books you are talking about are mass produced commodity items, right? If you don’t want them anymore and don’t know anyone else who does just treat them like any other print product and toss 'em out. They weren’t painstakingly copied by monks, the knowledge inside will not be lost, just being a book doesn’t make them special.

    Signed, someone who had to deal with a slew of outdated guidebooks, encyclopedias, cookbooks, reader’s digest issues, never-read novels and whatever else from a deceased relative because they just couldn’t bring themselves to put them in the recycling bin.

    • mohKohn@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      just … bring them to a library or thrift store… they’re better at figuring out what’s actually valuable

      • ed_cock@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        If you have one nearby then maybe, but I bet you even they don’t want that slightly water damaged, smelly copy of some cheapo 80s encyclopedia.

        Around here it’s also relatively common to sell old books by weight/volume, either on flea markets or classifieds/Ebay. But sometimes it literally isn’t worth the effort.

      • macrocephalic@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        My local thrifty shop had a pallet of assorted books and you can fill a bag for $5. I think of it like a lazy person’s library, I get a bunch of books, pay my dues, and then return them when I’m done.

  • Rosriv@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I’d definitely recommend just leaving them in a book box. The concept is easy: leave a book, take a book. But there’s nothing saying you can’t just leave book. Don’t have one nearby? Create one. 🥰

  • RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Recycle them. Or call up your local library and ask if they want them. Usually libraries will have an attached used book store, sometimes they put donated books there.

  • ABCDE@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Depends where you are; in the UK I take them to charity shops or give them to people who would appreciate them (just a few to each person or it gets a bit overwhelming). You can also leave them out on the street in a small box with ‘free’ on the side. There are some places with free ‘library’-type places that you can leave them in, or put them in cafes/leave on trains.

    • HipPriest@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      I used to volunteer in Oxfam Books and it’s honestly one of the best things you can do unless you do know people who want the books obviously.

      Everything is inspected and if for whatever it’s not fit to be resold (big coffee stains, or missing pages etc) it’s recycled. And then any profits go to help people in need. And we came across some genuinely rare things a few times. An edition of Shakespeare which was worth £400 or so from the 1700s was probably the most impressive - this like that get sold online.

      Obviously if there’s a different charity which means something more to you even better - I honestly think it’s the best thing to do with old books these days