How Many Boxes Can Give My Books Network Take in St. Louis?

There is no cap. Give My Books Network partners collect one box or fifty, and the pickup costs the same either way, which is nothing. Tell us roughly how many boxes when you book so the partner arrives with room.

A full basement of boxes under a Bevo Mill brick two-story is a normal Saturday for a Local Pick-Up Partner. So is a Carondelet garage stacked to the rafters after a downsizing.

What Counts as a Large Quantity Book Pickup?

Anything that will not fit in a car trunk, roughly. Ten boxes and up is where donors usually stop thinking about driving somewhere and start looking for a pickup instead.

• A basement or attic that has been filling up for thirty years
• A downsizing move, where the new place has half the shelf space
• A home library after a family sorting
• A classroom, church, or club library that is being rehomed
• A collector's overflow that finally outgrew the room

A Full Basement of Boxes in St. Louis: How to Plan It

Give yourself a week, not an afternoon. Packing a basement library is the real work, and doing it in one push is how people end up sore and behind schedule the morning of the pickup.

1. Work one shelf or one corner at a time.
2. Keep every box light enough for one person to carry up a flight of stairs.
3. Do not sort by type. Hardcovers, paperbacks, DVDs, and CDs travel together.
4. Stage the packed boxes near the door as you go, not at the bottom of the stairs.
5. Move them to the porch the evening before or the morning of, and cover them if rain is coming.

Why the Partner Does Not Come Down the Basement Stairs

A Local Pick-Up Partner collects what is already packed and waiting outside, and does not bring boxes or carry loads up from a basement. The books need to reach the porch or the alley garage before the service day.

That boundary is what keeps the service free and fast. A partner running a route across South City and out toward I-44 can make the day work because every stop is a lift-and-go. It also keeps everyone's back intact, which matters more than it sounds.

Do You Need to Be Home for a Big Pickup?

No. Set the boxes out in a dry, covered spot by 8 AM and go about your day. The Local Pick-Up Partner collects between 8 AM and 8 PM, and there is nothing to sign.

Damp is the one thing to watch. St. Louis basements leave paper musty, and a summer downpour finishes a cardboard box on an open porch in minutes. Cover the boxes, or use plastic totes.

Where Do the Books Go After a St. Louis Pickup?

Partners sort everything offsite. Many items are redistributed to schools, libraries, nonprofits, and literacy programs that request titles through the Give ME Books program. Some are resold, and that resale is what pays for a free pickup of any size.

Not every book is donated, and items that cannot find a reader may eventually be recycled, as a last resort. Libraries decline most large donations for reasons the American Library Association's guide to large book donations spells out honestly, which is exactly the gap a pickup fills.