Want to Spring Clean Your Bookshelf? Where to Sell or Donate Used Books in the Bay Area

With the hope of creating my own personal version of Belle’s dreamy library, I tend to hold onto every book I buy.

But a small space and a quickly buckling shelf (and a loved one pointing out that I was hoarding some books even I agreed were particularly bad) have finally convinced me to start letting things go.

I decided to start purging the shelf little by little, so as not to overwhelm myself. But it was embarrassing to admit to myself how hard the process turned out to be.

Traci Mitchell, a branch librarian for Butte County in Northern California and the host of the podcast Libraryish, reassured me that this was a common problem among readers.

“We’re all a little guilty of taking inanimate objects and applying feelings and animism,” she said. “That they’re real things, that they have thoughts, feelings, etc.”

And for books, especially, she added, “people put so much of their personal identity into” what they read.

But luckily, the process did become a bit easier when I learned that the Bay Area has a host of ways to donate, trade and sell your books — whether through Buy Nothing channels, local book stores or donating to libraries.

Keep reading to learn some of the ways to declutter your bookshelf and donate your books in the best, guilt-free way — just in time for the spring cleaning season.

Why you may want to declutter your bookshelf

There are many reasons someone would have a hard time letting go of items in their collection: a personal connection to a story, an appreciation for the ideas in a book or the fact that the book may have cost a lot of money.

All of those “little factors in your subconscious layer up” and make it difficult to clear out the shelf, Mitchell explained.

But she emphasized that “a book you donate isn’t going to be torn up. People really respect books. And books change people’s lives. So if you’re not connecting to a book that you have, you shouldn’t feel guilty about letting that book go.”

Decluttering also helps with creating more space for books you do enjoy — or for other items to fit in your home. And if you are sharing a space with someone, it gives you and your housemates — friends, roommates, partners, family — the opportunity to both be reflected in the space, Mitchell said.

Another benefit decluttering offers is the chance to let go of old ideas and find some closure.

“Sometimes people have books that reflect themselves in the past. And maybe it’s time to let those ideas and those things go,” Mitchell said.

For example, “a lot of people get self-help books to get themselves through a very difficult time … Maybe you’ve gotten through that time, and you don’t need to carry those books anymore. It’s kind of like carrying the old baggage with you.”

The piece of guidance that hit closest to home for me, however, was Mitchell explaining that bookshelves can be a dynamic piece of your home.

“Your collection can grow with you, and change with you as you grow and change,” she said. “And it doesn’t have to reflect all of who you’ve ever been throughout time. It can be you right now.”

How to figure out which books to take out

If you are convinced it’s time to declutter the shelf, Mitchell provided the following five quick tips on where to start:

The books you didn’t pick personally

“The best places to start really are sort of those books that wound up in your possession that you didn’t choose,” she said.

These can be books you got as gifts, or novels you picked up randomly, without a lot of intention. They are the books a reader is least invested in, especially when they haven’t read them, she said.

“There is probably someone out there that would appreciate that book and would find value in that book more than you do,” Mitchell said.

Hobby and guidebooks

Maybe cleaning out your shelf is a good time to think about all of those new skills you didn’t pick up.

“Look at those books that you bought thinking, ‘I’m definitely going to learn to knit this year.’” Mitchell suggested. “Think about a time limit. Have you had that book for three months? For six months? For a year? Longer?”

If you don’t see yourself getting around to that hobby in the foreseeable future, it could be time to let go.

Duplicates

This may feel like an obvious option, but it’s worth doing a little audit of your shelf for titles that appear more than once.

“It’s surprising how many times people have duplicates in their collections because you didn’t recognize the title or the cover,’ Mitchell said.

Damaged books 

Mitchell said another option to clear out the shelf is going through the books that “aren’t in the best shape, that you think might be falling apart, or that are due for a replacement.”

“When a book is left in a garage or an attic, they get moist, and the pages start to wrinkle, or they get infested with bugs — which happens very easily — or they’re even just dusty or smelly,” Mitchell explained.

But those may be best for recycling versus donating.

“My director has a great guideline for measuring the condition of a book: Would you take that book into bed with you to read it?” she said. “If you would not take the book into bed with you to read it, then maybe it’s time to recycle that book.”

According to Recology in San Francisco, soft cover books, phone books and notebooks can be recycled.

(This scenario reminded me of an episode in the rebooted season of “King of the Hill,” where everyone’s favorite Texan mom Peggy Hill sets up a little free library outside her home that inadvertently starts a neighborhood-wide bed bug infestation. This made me so paranoid that I thought I needed to start freezing books to kill potential bugs.)

To-be-read pile

Perhaps one of the harder decisions to make, alas.

But Mitchell also suggested sifting through your to-be-read pile and asking yourself if you really are going to read those books. Hard questions!

And now: the ways to get rid of said books:

Option 1: Go to a book swap

In the pursuit of clearing out my shelf, I found out about book swaps — and they quickly became my favorite way of parting with (and acquiring) books.

I went to my first book swap in San Francisco’s Dolores Park, hosted by Oakland resident and children’s author Karina Zhou, who was lounging on a picnic blanket with a display of books, graphic novels and magazines.

It was also Zhou’s first book swap, and most of the visiting readers were strangers, she said.

“I wanted to find ways to expand my book taste,” she said. “I thought this was a great way to just bring friends and strangers together, get a personal recommendation.”

In hopes of impressing other readers, I actually traded in a book I liked (“Kids Run the Show,” by Delphine de Vigan), and, in return, picked up a copy of McSweeney’s literary magazine.

I found the event through Partiful, which has an explore page that points to similar local events. Other ways to find book swaps include Facebook, Instagram and Eventbrite.

Local bookstores and libraries, including A Novel Affair in Los Altos and the Burlingame Public Library, also host their own book swaps.

Option 2: Sell or trade at your local bookstore

Many local bookstores in the Bay Area will let you sell your used books or trade them for store credit.

Keep in mind that each bookstore will have its own specific policies on how to hand in your items. For example, some may want you to call ahead; some are okay with drop-ins. Some want you to pack the books in a bag or a box; some will only accept one or two books at a time.

It is best to check on the store’s website ahead of time and see what their expectations are for selling books.

It’s worth noting that it is important to go into selling your books with tempered expectations. Bookstores across the country are feeling the financial strain of a rapidly changing industry, and may not have the ability to buy anything at all.

Here are just some of the stores in the Bay Area that accept books:

San Francisco

• Green Apple, specifically the 506 Clement St. location. Green Apple only buys books and does not accept donations.
• Dog Eared Books Valencia. If they do not opt to buy your books, you can drop them off for free in a box located outside the bookstore.
• Borderland Books, for cash or store credit, and specifically science fiction, fantasy, mystery and horror books.
• Noe Valley Books and Bernie’s Coffee Shop accept donations for their shared cafe space, The Annex.
• Fabulosa Books, usually for store credit, but may pay for special books. If they do not opt to buy your books, you can drop them off for free in a box located outside the store.
• Russian Hill Bookstore, for cash or store credit.

East Bay

• Walden Pond Books in Oakland, for cash or store credit.
• Pegasus Books in Berkeley and Oakland, for store credit.
• Tally Ho! Books in Oakland, usually for store credit, but may buy desirable titles.
• Books on B in Hayward, for cash or store credit. Be sure to monitor the Instagram page for what type of books they are seeking. For example, earlier this month, the store was seeking children’s picture books, specifically.
• The Escapist, for cash, in Berkeley, specifically for vintage comics and graphic novels.
• Half Price Books, for cash, in Fremont and Dublin.

Peninsula/South Bay

• Peninsula Books in Daly City, which only accepts donations.
• B Street Books, for cash or store credit, in Burlingame.
• Bell’s Books buys specifically “fine books and collections” in Palo Alto.
• Leigh’s Favorite Books, for store credit, in Sunnyvale.
• Recycle Bookstore, which buys and trades books, in Campbell.

North Bay

• Treehorn Books, for cash, in Santa Rosa.
• Paperbacks Unlimited, for store credit, in Santa Rosa.
• Second Chances Used Book, for cash, in Sebastopol.
• Readers’ Books, for store credit, in Sonoma.

Option 3: Going through online retailers and Buy Nothing channels

Perhaps the easiest way to sell or donate your used books is by posting them online.

In this reporter’s experience, selling books online isn’t super lucrative — you definitely won’t be making your hardcover’s money back — and you will likely have to offer some deals so people will bite. But the more exclusive or special the book, the more likely someone will be willing to pay a bit more for a special cover or a signed copy.

There are online retailers and websites you can use. But keep in mind, you will likely be responsible for shipping and packing costs.

Websites (with links to their selling guides) where you can sell your books include:

• BookScouter
• Half Price Books
• World of Books
• Powell’s Books
• Pangobooks
• eBay
• Amazon

This reporter has a lot of experience going through local Facebook groups and marketplaces to list and hand off books. In my experience, it is best to have a lot of books available to give away, so potential buyers have a wide variety to choose from and bulk-buy. (If you meet in person for any hand-offs, make sure you do it in a public place!)

Facebook and other online groups, like Discord channels and apps, will also likely have “Buy Nothing” channels, where you can put your things up for grabs, for free.

Your own circles may also be a great space to reach out and see who is interested. For example, a workspace may have a Buy Nothing channel where you can hand your things off to a coworker.

Option 4: Donate to libraries

If you are comfortable parting with your books strictly as a donation, your local library is a great spot to hand off used books.

Most libraries will have an associated volunteer-led organization, usually with the name “Friends of,” that handles donations and fundraising for its local branch, Mitchell said.

For example, you can donate your books through the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library System, the Friends of the Oakland Public Library, or The Book Place on behalf of the Friends of Marin County Free Library. But other libraries, like the Saratoga Library, may accept them directly.

Mitchell said it is a good idea to reach out to your library to see what they may be able to accept.

Many libraries, she explained, see “a lot of genre fiction” donated to their collections. Some may seek cookbooks and textbooks.

But “often people make the mistake that a library is an archive — so that we’re interested in old books and bringing them in and adding them.”

“And that’s not really what public libraries do,” she said. “We’re serving the public that wants things for the moment and right now. And so certain older items, there’s no archival space.”

Option 5: Reach out to schools and young readers

There are also many Bay Area nonprofits with a mission to provide more books to children, teens and students to close the literacy gap.

According to Access Books Bay Area in San Francisco, the state “provides no dedicated funding for school libraries,” which are funded mostly by local governments, and “out-of-date library materials often do not reflect the cultures of the students attending schools today.”

Organizations for young readers include:

• The Book Wagon for San Francisco elementary schools
• Children’s Book Project, which has a location for drop off at 2166 Palou Avenue in San Francisco
• Access Books Bay Area
• East Bay Children’s Book Project
• Project Cicero Bay Area
• Stanford Medicine’s library, which provides materials to health centers in the area
• Santa Clara Valley Medical Center

Option 6: Find a little library

You probably have seen these very quaint little pop-ups in Bay Area neighborhoods — often looking like a birdhouse for books.

There can be a great opportunity to load off one or two books to your neighborhood, but probably not more than that, considering how compact the libraries are.

You can use this map online to find a little library near you.

Option 7: Donate to incarcerated people

The Prisoners Literature Project, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, also accepts book donations for incarcerated people and has a short guide on how people can reach out to the organization with offers.

Keep in mind that any books you consider giving to prisons would need to be of very good quality. According to the nonprofit’s website, “prisons are increasingly restrictive about book quality, with many accepting only new books in paperback.”

Genres requested the most by individuals include cookbooks, fitness, fantasy, science fiction, graphic novels, spirituality, self-help books, how-to manuals, business and meditation.

Other organizations that serve incarcerated individuals in California and across the country include:

• Freedom Reads
• Books to Prisoners
• DC Books to Prisons
• Women’s Prison Book Project
• Prison Book Program
• LGBT Books to Prisoners