Where Do We Donate Books?

by Alan Beatts

I'm afraid that, with one thing and another (not the least of which has been getting our new newsletter service working right . . . -ish), I don't have much to say this month.  But I do have a favor to ask.

We are looking for places to donate books.  For years we've been donating books to Martin de Poores < http://www.martindeporres.org/ >, who give them out to their clients, and to other agencies, but we sometimes find ourselves with too many books for them.  We also find that hardcover books are not as good a donation for them as paperbacks.  So, I'm working on finding other worthy places to donate.  As much as I support the San Francisco Public Library, most of the books donated to them are put up for sale.  I'd prefer to donate the books to places where they'll be used, since that gets the best value out of them (as opposed to selling them quite cheaply, as the library does.)

These are all kinds of books -- damaged books, books that customers have abandoned, books that aren't in our genres, books that authors have sent ten unsolicited copies of to us -- a little bit of everything.   If there are specific criteria for the books donated, I'm happy to sort them to suit.  For example, I donated about ten boxes to a local school that requested that the books be hardcover and suitable for kids under 15 years old.  The main thing is, we'd like the books to go to a good home, so if you've got suggestions (or even better, a contact at the institution that needs or wants a donation), please let us know!