How the Brooklyn Community Book-Sharing Program Works

It's simpler than most people expect. You schedule a free pickup, set your books outside, and a Local Pick-Up Partner handles the rest. No driving across town. No sorting anything yourself.

Here's the process. You enter your ZIP code on our site. If a Pick-Up Partner already serves your area in Brooklyn, you'll see their available service days right away. Pick a day that works for you, and the pickup lands on their schedule automatically. No approval process, no back-and-forth emails. People in neighborhoods like Park Slope and Flatbush schedule pickups in under two minutes.

What if no partner currently covers your ZIP code? You can still submit a request. It enters our out-of-area pickup system, where nearby partners may claim it. So even if you're in a part of Brooklyn that doesn't have a dedicated partner yet, your books can still find a second life.

On pickup day, place your boxes or bags in a safe, dry spot starting at 8 AM. A front stoop works great. So does a garage or a covered entryway. Nobody needs to be home. The pickup window runs from 8 AM to 8 PM. No need to call, text, or wait around.

One thing people always ask: do I need to separate kids' books from novels, or pull out textbooks? Nope. Pack everything together in bags or boxes that aren't too heavy, and you're done. Partners handle all the sorting after collection.

And what happens to the books? Many items get redistributed to readers, schools, libraries, nonprofits, and organizations requesting books through the Give ME Books program. Some may be resold by the partner to help sustain the free pickup service and support their team. Items that truly can't be reused may eventually be recycled, but that's always a last resort. Schedule, set out, and let your Brooklyn neighbors benefit.

What Types of Books the Brooklyn Program Accepts and Shares

We get this question more than any other. "Can I include my old textbooks? What about kids' board books?" Pack them up.

The community book-sharing program in Brooklyn accepts a wide range of books and media. Fiction, nonfiction, children's books, cookbooks, graphic novels, self-help titles, biographies. Coffee table books you've had since you moved into your Williamsburg apartment. That stack of paperback mysteries on your nightstand. CDs, DVDs, other media you're ready to pass along. All of it.

Here's what matters most. Don't worry about sorting anything. You don't need to separate hardcovers from paperbacks or pull out the kids' stuff. Just place everything in boxes or bags that are well packed and not too heavy. Local Pick-Up Partners handle all the sorting after collection. People stress about this constantly, and there's just no need.

Think about what's sitting in your home right now. Those chapter books your kids outgrew in Park Slope. A box of novels in the back of your closet. Travel guides from trips you took years ago. All of those can find new life with someone else. Many items are redistributed to readers, schools, libraries, nonprofits, and organizations requesting books. Some may be resold by the Pick-Up Partner to support their business and help keep the free pickup service running. Organizations can also request specific types of books through the Give ME Books program. Items that can't be reused after real effort may eventually be recycled, but that's always the last option.

You don't need to decide which ones are "good enough." Just pack them and set them out.

Where to Drop Off or Pick Up Books Across Brooklyn

You don't need to drive anywhere. With Give My Books Network, a Local Pick-Up Partner comes to you. Pack your books in boxes or bags that aren't too heavy, set them outside on your scheduled pickup day, and that's the whole thing.

It happens all the time. Someone in Park Slope has three boxes of kids' books their family outgrew. Someone in Flatbush just cleared out a closet full of novels. Maybe you're in Williamsburg with old textbooks sitting in a hallway. Good books, no good plan for them.

You enter your ZIP code on the scheduling page. If a Local Pick-Up Partner already serves your area, you'll see them right away. Pick a service day. The pickup lands on their schedule automatically. No back-and-forth, no waiting for approval.

What if nobody serves your ZIP code yet? Submit a request anyway. It enters the out-of-area pickup system, and a nearby partner may claim it. So if you're in a quieter corner of Brooklyn like Canarsie or Marine Park, don't skip the request. It's worth putting in.

For the actual pickup day, nobody needs to be home. Leave your items starting at 8 AM in a safe, dry spot. Your stoop works. A covered porch. A garage. The pickup window runs from 8 AM to 8 PM, so your partner handles the rest on their own schedule.

And you don't need to sort anything. Don't separate fiction from nonfiction. Don't pull out the kids' books. Just pack everything together. Partners handle all the sorting after collection. Your only job is getting the items outside.

The Real Impact of Book Sharing on Brooklyn Families and Schools

Those boxes of picture books sitting in your closet? They're not just clutter. They're someone else's bedtime story.

A family in Park Slope packs up three bags of chapter books their kids outgrew. A few days later, those same titles could end up with a reader across Brooklyn who's been looking for exactly that. Many items collected through Give My Books Network are redistributed to readers, schools, libraries, nonprofits, and organizations requesting books. Your shelf space becomes someone else's reading list.

Think about how many books pass through a Brooklyn household in a single school year. Homework readers, summer reading picks, those impulse buys from the bookstore on Atlantic Avenue. They pile up fast. And most of them still have plenty of life left.

Organizations can request books through the Give ME Books program, so it's not just individual readers who benefit. Schools, community groups, and nonprofits across Brooklyn can tap into this network to get books where they're needed. Community-based reading initiatives like this one are part of a broader movement — funding community reading programs that reach underserved readers has become a recognized priority for literacy advocates worldwide. Not every book follows the same path, and that's fine. Some items may be resold by the Pick-Up Partner to support the free pickup service. Others get donated. The point is they don't sit in a landfill.

Items that can't be reused may eventually be recycled. But that's always a last resort. Reuse comes first. Then redistribution. Then donation. Recycling only happens after real effort to keep something circulating.

You don't need a reason bigger than "I have too many books." One pickup from your stoop in Brooklyn can put dozens of titles back into circulation. And, that feels pretty good on a Saturday morning.

How Brooklyn Residents Keep the Book-Sharing Cycle Going

You'd be surprised how many people schedule a pickup and then tell a friend about it the next day. One person clears out a shelf, mentions it over coffee, and suddenly there are three more pickups on the same block. That's how this works in Brooklyn.

The cycle stays alive because people participate. Every box of books you set outside feeds into a system that keeps reading material moving through the community. Many items get redistributed to readers, schools, libraries, nonprofits, and organizations requesting books. Some may be resold by the Local Pick-Up Partner to support their business and help sustain the free pickup service. Items that can't be reused may eventually be recycled, but that's always a last resort.

So what can you actually do? Start by telling people this exists. Your neighbor in Flatbush who just finished a massive spring clean probably doesn't know they can schedule a free pickup. The parent at your kid's school with bags of outgrown chapter books sitting in a closet? Same thing. Word of mouth does more for book sharing than almost anything else.

Organizations in Brooklyn can also request books through the Give ME Books program. Schools, community centers, nonprofits. It creates a direct line between the books you're giving away and the groups that need them.

Regulars make this work. Someone schedules their first pickup, realizes how easy it was, and comes back every few months. They collect books from friends and neighbors, box them up, and keep the cycle turning. No sorting required. Just pack items in boxes or bags that aren't too heavy and set them out. That's enough to make a real difference right here in Brooklyn.