What to Do With Old Books You No Longer Want in Los Angeles
Quick answer: The best thing to do with old books you no longer want in Los Angeles is pass them forward. Give My Books Network collects books and media free from your doorstep: pack the boxes, set them out by 8 AM on your service day, and a Local Pick-Up Partner collects them between 8 AM and 8 PM. You do not need to be home.
What Should You Do With Old Books You No Longer Want?
Pass them forward rather than sending them to a landfill. Give My Books Network collects old books free from Los Angeles doorsteps, including the ones libraries and shops decline, so almost nothing in an ordinary collection is beyond use.
Where to Donate Books You No Longer Want
Los Angeles offers five real destinations: a free doorstep pickup, a library branch, a school or classroom drive, a Little Free Library, or a shelter or literacy program that has asked for titles. Each one suits a different size of pile.
- Free doorstep pickup — any quantity, any topic, no drive. Give My Books Network sends a Local Pick-Up Partner to your door.
- Library branch — small numbers of clean, current titles. Branches cap donations because shelf space is finite.
- School or classroom drive — children's books and readers, usually only while a drive is running.
- Little Free Library — three or four paperbacks at a time, not a box.
- Shelter or literacy program — specific requests, usually for specific kinds of book.
The Top Options in Los Angeles for 2026
Free pickup ranks first for anything over two boxes, and every other option ranks by how far you are willing to drive. In this city, distance is the deciding variable, not generosity.
None of that is a slight on the alternatives. A branch library, a classroom drive, and a Little Free Library are all good homes for the right pile. But where to donate books usually comes down to logistics rather than intent, because all three of those options assume you will do the carrying, and the carrying is what stops most people.
Which Option Fits Which Pile?
Match the option to the volume: a few books suit a Little Free Library, a bag or two of current titles suits a branch or a school drive, and anything over two boxes belongs in a free pickup.
Condition matters second. A branch wants clean and current. Give My Books Network wants readable, which is a much lower bar, and deliberately so.
Do Little Free Libraries Take Boxes?
No — a Little Free Library holds about twenty books and is built for a slow trickle, so leaving a box beside one in Silver Lake mostly creates a problem for whoever maintains it.
Use them the way they were meant to be used. Three or four paperbacks at a time, dropped into a box on a Los Feliz side street or on the walk up toward Griffith Park, and the shelf stays healthy for everybody. Send the other eleven boxes with a Local Pick-Up Partner.
How Does Free Doorstep Pickup Work in Los Angeles?
Give My Books Network sends a Local Pick-Up Partner — the locally owned family business that does the collecting — to your door at no cost. You pack the boxes, set them out by 8 AM, and collection happens between 8 AM and 8 PM.
The partner does not bring boxes. Use whatever you have, keep each container light enough for one person to lift, and set it out somewhere shaded and dry. If no partner covers your ZIP code yet, the request enters the out-of-area pickup system, where a nearby partner may claim it.
What Happens to Old Books After a Los Angeles Pickup?
Partners sort everything offsite, then redistribute many items through the Give ME Books program to schools, libraries, literacy programs, and senior centers, while reselling a portion to pay for the free pickup.
The resale is not hidden, and the honesty is the point. Some of your books will be sold at a low price to somebody who actually wants them. Items with no second life left may eventually be recycled as a last resort. There is also no tax receipt, because these are family businesses rather than 501(c)(3) nonprofits — the American Library Association's Book Donation Programs guide is a good place to compare that trade-off against other routes.
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Weighing up your options in Los Angeles, CA? Our guide to where to donate books compares doorstep pickup with libraries, thrift stores and every other realistic destination.