Where to Donate Books in Detroit

Have you found yourself with some books you no longer need after a cleanup of your personal library?

The good news is, if you live in or around the motor city you’re not short of places to donate your books. From charities working to distribute books to those who need them most, to libraries in the greater city area, Detroit is not short of places that will take your books.

Contents of the Page:

• Places to Donate Kids’ Books
• Places to Donate Reference Books
• Master List of Organizations in Detroit with Full Donation Details

Note: We prioritize organizations that dedicate time and resources to aiding literacy in their local communities.

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Places to Donate Children’s Books in Detroit

The city isn’t short on organizations who accept children’s books in good condition. 

• RX for Reading Detroit is a specific literacy nonprofit that distributes children’s books throughout Detroit.
• The Children’s Center works specifically with kids who have lived through traumatic life events, and use books to help with this.
• Brilliant Detroit is another child-specific nonprofit that has a pick up option for larger donations.

Click on the links above to be taken to these individual listings. Note that the libraries featured on our master list below will also accept children’s books.

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Places to Donate Reference Books in Detroit

On our list, there is currently only one place that accepts reference books like dictionaries, KAN Books.

They’re a co-op bookstore that promotes local authors of color. As well as running children’s book clubs, they have a literacy entrepreneurs program specifically designed for children and teens 8-18. Read more about them by clicking on the link to their listing above.

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Next is our master list of the best places to donate books in Detroit. Please note that we prioritize organizations that dedicate time and resources to aiding literacy in their local communities.

RX for Reading Detroit

Donation Type: Pick up from you, Drop off
Drop Off Location: University of Detroit Mercy, 4001 W McNichols Rd, Detroit, MI 48221
Type of Books Accepted: Children’s books of all sorts
Website: RX Reading

How to Donate

RX for Reading are happy to collect your books. They advise emailing them to arrange a pick up time at: readingdetroit@gmail.com 

Alternatively, they accept donations in-person at University of Detroit Mercy.

Why We Love RX for Reading

RX distributes all of its donated books to places like homeless shelters, local schools, hospitals, and more in Detroit. Their output of donated books is incredible: they average distributing about 2,000 books a month in the Detroit area! 

They’re also committed to closing the literacy gap in Detroit and Michigan as a whole. Only 19% of children from low-income backgrounds have a third grade reading level by the time they’re in third grade. 

The Children’s Center

Donation Type: Drop off
Location: 79 Alexandrine West, Detroit, MI 48201
Hours: Mon-Thurs 8am-8pm; Fri 8am-5pm
Type of Books Accepted: Children’s books
Website: The Children’s Center

How to Donate

They ask for gently used or like-new children’s books. Just bring them by the Center during opening hours.

Why We Love The Children’s Center

Their specialists and clinicians work with children who’ve been subject to trauma in the past, and those with learning difficulties. They provide an in-home service to help families share the load, and any book donations will go directly to the families they help to promote story time as a positive activity the whole family can enjoy and learn from together.

Brilliant Detroit

Donation Type: Drop off, Pick up from you
Location: 5675 Larkins Street, Detroit, MI 48210
Type of Books Accepted: Coloring books, activity books, educational books, general children’s books (see all requested titles on their wishlist below)
Website: Check out their wishlist

How to Donate

Their wishlist is the best place to start. Here, Brilliant Detroit have listed the exact titles they want when it comes to children’s books. If you have any activity or coloring books too, this is definitely the right organization to donate books to in Detroit.

Alternatively, you can arrange a pick up by emailing Brilliant Detroit with your address details.

Why We Love Brilliant Detroit

The mission of Brilliant Detroit is to create “kid success neighborhoods.” By repurposing donated items, they set up family centers in local districts where families can give their children the mechanisms to succeed in school by taking part in health and education programs, among others.

They really promote diversity, and the books they request on their wishlist reflect this. This sort of purpose is really important when working in a city like Detroit.

Making Spirits Bright

How to Donate

Drop off at their main warehouse location, or visit one of their upcoming book drives near you. They’re also happy to collect your books, so if you’d like to arrange a pick up, please email support@makingspiritsbright.org.

Why We Love Making Spirits Bright

Co-founded by author Maria Dismondy, Making Spirits Bright is a new organization founded in 2023 that partners with a wide variety of local schools and charitable programs such as the All Things Women Shelter to build out their libraries.

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KAN Books

Why We Love KAN Books

They provide you the opportunity to donate books outside the “norm”, that is to say they take school supplies, dictionaries and other forms of books that charitable organizations may not.

KAN Books are pretty cool. They’re a co-op bookstore that promotes local authors of color. As well as running children’s book clubs, they have a literacy entrepreneurs program specifically designed for children and teens 8-18, which gives kids the chance to take part in open mics and poetry slams among other things.

Birdie’s Book Drive

How to Donate

Birdie’s is a little different: they request you host a book drive in order to donate. They may take one-off donations, but they also will provide you with the necessary tools to host a successful book drive yourself!

Bookstock

How to Donate

The Bookstock location details seem to change regularly depending on who can provide a facility for donations. Best to check their link above to see when you can drop off your books.

Why We Love Bookstock

They’re a local program run by volunteers that pumps all proceeds from their book sales into literacy programs in Detroit. Awesome.

Friends of the Orion Township Library

How to Donate

The Friends of the Orion Township Library are open during regular library hours, meaning this gives you an option to donate later in the day from Monday to Thursday as they’re open until 9pm. Giving books is a great way to support your local library.

Rochester Hills Public Library Friends

How to Donate

We would advise calling the Friends Bookstore to schedule a time to drop off your books at 248-650-7179.

The Friends host several book sales a year, so assume that any book worth selling on for them is going to be of value (likely no magazines and textbooks here.)

Library Bookstore

How to Donate

The Library Bookstore will be happy to value any books you think may be worth something and exchange them for cash.

As you can see, there are an abundance of places willing to accept your books. Also, if you’re going to be making the trip to the University of Michigan at any point, be sure to read up on our top picks for Ann Arbor book donations in case you or anyone you know has a surplus of books there too.