Where to donate used books in the Capital Region

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Do you have used books that you’re looking to get rid of? Instead or recycling or throwing them in the trash, there’s a few programs in the area that will take them.

Here’s where you can donate used books in the Capital Region.

Libraries

Many libraries in the Capital Region accept donations of used books and other materials. During the pandemic, some libraries stopped accepting donations. If libraries don’t have room for more books, they may also stop accepting donations. Make sure to call the library ahead of time to make sure they will take the books.

The RED Bookshelf

The RED Bookshelf is a non-profit community literacy program in Albany that accepts used children’s books. The program accepts donations for all ages of children including board books, picture books, leveled readers, early chapter and young adult.

The RED bookshelves are located throughout Albany, where visitors can take the books for free. Although not all bookshelves are accessible to the public, they are located at:

Family Court, 30 Clinton Avenue
Koinonia Primary Care, 553 Clinton Avenue
Albany Medical Center Pediatric Group, 391 Myrtle Avenue, 3rd floor
Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center, 920 Lark Drive
Community Care Physicians Albany Family, 391 Myrtle Avenue, 4th floor
St. Peter’s Family Health Center, 326 South Pearl Street
Qazir Sutherland Memorial Shelf, Ezra Prentice, 625 South Pearl Street
Creighton Storey Community Center, 158 Third Avenue
Capital Woods Community Center, 200 Lark Drive
Albany 518 SNUG Office, 341 Clinton Avenue
SNUG Outreach, 326 Clinton Avenue
Hoods House of Hoops, 340 1st Street
Will’s Barbershop, 444 Delaware Avenue and 113 Central Avenue
Tru Images Barbershop, 262 Washington Avenue
Northern Rivers, 519 Clinton Avenue
RISSE, 240 West Lawrence Street

If you would like to donate books, you can make an appointment on the RED Bookshelf website.

Better World Books

Better World Books collects used books to sell online. For every book purchased, the organization donates a book to someone in need. Better World Books has drop boxes within the Capital Region that can be found at:

Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library
Albany Public Library – Pine Hills
Albany Public Library – Delaware Branch
Bethlehem Public Library
New Beginnings Thrift Shop in Schoharie
Schoharie Free Library
The Community Library in Cobleskill

Little Free Libraries

Little Free Library is a non-profit organization with more than 100,000 registered book-sharing boxes worldwide. Visitors can take books from the boxes to read.

You can donate books by putting them directly in the Little Free Library book-sharing boxes. There are many boxes around the Capital Region, including in:

Albany
Schenectady
Troy
Saratoga Springs
Clifton Park
Scotia
Rotterdam
Malta
Wilton
Schaghticoke
Averill Park
West Sand Lake
Guilderland
Altamont
Duanesburg

You can view the full map with precise locations of the book-sharing boxes on the Little Free Library website.

Bulk Book Warehouse

The Bulk Book Warehouse accepts donations with the goal of finding used books new homes. They sell books online, as well as donate books to organizations through their “Trading Pages” program.

The company also offers free book pickups within 30 miles of Rotterdam, which is where the warehouse is located. You can find the drop-off bins at: