Where to Donate Books in Connecticut

Featuring local nonprofits that work in the community, these are all the spots where you can donate your books locally in Connecticut, where we guarantee your books will be put to good use!

Books 4 Everyone (Greenwich Book Swap)

How to Donate

The Book Shed, located at the Holly Hill Recycling Center, accepts your used books on Friday and Saturday mornings by drop off.

Please note they can only take up to 10 books per person at a drop off.

Please use their blue bins if you’re donating encyclopedias, textbooks, finance, self-help, or religious books. These types of books generally can’t be used for redistributing so will be sold online by a third party.

How Books 4 Everyone Helps

Your books will be put to use throughout the local community. Such organizations that have benefited from book donations previously include the Greenwich Hospital Bendheim Cancer Center, and senior centers around the area.

The program has been going for over 25 years now, and is an absolute staple of the CT book donation scene!

New Haven Reads

How to Donate

Although the organization accepts drop offs, they require you schedule your drop off via phone or email at least one day in advance:

• Email: books@newhavenreads.org
• Phone: 203-752-1923

How New Haven Reads Helps

I love writing about this kind of literacy charity! New Haven Reads helps school children of all ages improve their reading skills by having their volunteers work one on one with the kids via various tutoring programs.

Their Book Bank needs new or gently used books to support their mission, and they allow hungry readers to choose from the array of titles at the Book Bank. This is a fantastic cause to support in the state.

Darien Book Aid

How to Donate

The Darien Book Aid *lobby* is open 24/7 at their primary location, and books can be dropped off there at any time of day.

The two libraries listed above also accept donations during regular opening hours on behalf of Darien Book Aid.

The charity has an exhaustive list of titles they accept; I felt it easier to simply list what they categorically don’t accept, but if you’re wondering if a particularly niche type of book will or won’t be accepted, check out the list on their website for clarity.

How Darien Book Aid Helps

They send donated books to Africa and around the world, as well as helping to stock literacy programs in Connecticut.

Darien Book Aid was actually founded way back in 1949 by Mrs. Gordon Lamont to send books to a post-war Europe. It proudly stands as one of, if not the longest standing literacy charity in America.

Russell Library Friends (Middletown)

How to Donate

Bring your books to the Russell Library during the opening hours listed above. 

Friends can’t accept large book donations (think 50+ books.) A couple of bags or a full box would be okay.

The Friends host book sales periodically throughout the year.

Friends of the Ferguson Library Book Shop (Stamford)

How to Donate

Donations may be dropped off at the loading dock behind the library off Spring Street. The library requests that you pull all the way into the loading dock so neighboring businesses have access.

The Harry Bennett Branch will publicize when it accepts donations on the website link above.

So, that concludes our exhaustive list of everywhere accepting donations across the state of Connecticut. It’s certainly well “connected” when it comes to literacy charities looking to help out, as well as libraries doing their bit to keep books local (couldn’t resist that one!)