Have you embarked on an adventure of decluttering your shelves, and found books that you don’t need or read anymore? If so, and you’re looking to donate books in Los Angeles, then look no further!
This comprehensive list details the best places to donate books in Los Angeles with a variety of donation types: some have book bins, some will collect books from you; as well as information on what types of books the organizations do and don’t accept. There are no fewer than 11 organizations here!
Re-Book It
Location: Free book pick up in LA county (email for pick up)
Donation Receipt: Yes, upon request
Website: Re-Book It
How to Donate
Book donations can be arranged to be picked up by Re-Book It via emailing them.
Re-Book It will consider picking up donations in the following counties, if the donation is at least 40 boxes and no more than 2 hours from LA:
- Orange
- San Bernardino
- Ventura
- Riverside
They do not accept:
- Magazines
- Newspapers
- Law libraries
- VHS tapes
- Old library books
Please note, that a few of these items mixed into a large donation is okay, but no more than one box. Books with highlighting and underlining are fine, but no moldy books, or books with missing pages.
The donations benefit libraries, schools, hospitals, at-risk children and the Last Bookstore.
Access Books
West Los Angeles: 01325 Orton Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90064
Orton is found east of Beverly Gren between Olympic and Pico.
Malibu: 3727 Malibu Country Drive Malibu, Ca 98265
This can be found one block north of Malibu Canyon near the Pepperdine University.
South Bay: 651 Ave B, Redondo Beach, CA 90277
Los Angeles North Side (Pasadena, Glendale, etc): 419 Starlight Crest Drive, La Canada, 91011
Hours: Most sites are residential and don’t have “opening hours”
Donation Receipt: No
Website: Access Books
How to Donate
Drop off your books at the sites above. Please note, most sites are residential and therefore don’t have opening hours. Access Books asks that the boxes are labeled, sealed in stackable boxes rather than overflowing bags.
Access Books are prevalent throughout California, and do amazing work by using their book donations to fund public school libraries in areas with high poverty rates. They even recently scored a local TV feature.
Follow the link to find their Amazon wish list, if you are keen to purchase books for Access Books, rather than donating.
They do not accept adult books or books older than 5 years old.
Discover Books
Location: Use their drop off locator to find your local bin
Hours: Book bin drop off (any time!)
Donation Receipt: No
Website: Discover Books
How to Donate
Use the drop off locator to find your local bin to donate your books.
An organization with a great history of book recycling in Los Angeles. Discover Books has recycled over 500 million pounds of paper, saving thousands of books from landfill demise.
Library Foundation of Los Angeles
Location: 630 West 5th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Hours: Monday–Thursday: 10am-7pm; Friday and Saturday: 9:30am-5:30pm; Sunday: 1pm-5pm
Donation Receipt: Unknown
Website: LFLA
How to Donate
If you have a donation of four boxes or more, please call 213.292.6264 to arrange delivery. Smaller donations can be made through business hours.
The Library accepts donations of books, DVDs, CDs, cassette tapes and audio books.
All proceeds from consequent sales go to supporting the Los Angeles Public Library and its various programs.
Children’s Book World
Location: 10580 ½ West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90064
Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-5:30pm; Sat 10am-5pm
Donation Receipt: No
Website: Book Recycling Center
How to Donate
Children’s Book World advise bringing your gently used books to the address above.
Children’s Book World is not able to accept the following:
- Text books
- Old library books
- Adult books
- Videos or games
Children’s Books World is really doing some great work in the community, as it aids the children they work with in learning the value and rewards of sharing with others. Very cool!
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Location: 4650 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Hours: Monday to Friday: 8:30am-7:30pm; Saturday: 10am-6:30pm
Donation Receipt: Yes
Website: CHLA Literally Healing
How to Donate
Drop off or mail your book donations to the address above.
Ideally, the books should be brand new due to infection control policies that are in place at the hospital.
If you don’t have any books to donate, but still want to donate something, magazine subscriptions are welcome. Please send them to the above address, adding “Literally Healing Program” to the subscription name (love that name!) Take a look at their website for a list of desired magazine subscriptions, for both patients and parents. The Amazon magazine wish list can be found here.
Every day that a patient is at the hospital, they receive a minimum of one free brand new book to read and take home with them. This is a great way to provide a distraction from the possible scary hospital environment by engaging their imaginations through literature.
The Hospital’s Amazon book wish list can be found here – this link enables the books to be delivered straight to the hospital, so it takes one less job to donate!
American Book Drive
Location: Pick up service available from anywhere in Los Angeles or go here to enter your zip and find your nearest drop-off bin.
Hours: 24h drop-off bins, or Mon-Fri pick-up service
Donation Receipt: No
Website: American Book Drive
How to Donate
With over 70 drop off bins, and their site boasting more being added weekly, the American Book Drive aim to keep books out of landfills and use them instead to benefit the local community.
This organization’s business model is to sell donated books online and use the funds raised to benefit charities within Los Angeles and the surrounding counties. Currently they support four main charities: The Los Angeles Affiliate Of Susan G. Komen For The Cure, SPCA, Santa Monica Malibu Education Foundation, and the San Juan Capistrano Educational Foundation.
The organization does allow you to choose which of these charities you would like funds from your donated books to benefit. Any children’s books which are in excellent condition are packaged up and distributed to local hospitals, schools and children’s centers, making this the ideal place to send books of that nature.
Textbooks with a copyright of 2006 or after are gratefully received, so those looking to unload their schoolbooks will certainly find a home for them here.
If you live in Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, or San Diego county you can simply fill in a home pick-up request form and they come to you. You can choose the day they arrive as they operate 5 days a week, with a fleet of van drivers available to come wherever you need them.
Book Driver
Location: Pick up from anywhere in Los Angeles, CA by filling in this form
Hours: Appointment only
Donation Receipt: No
Website: Book Driver
How to Donate
Offering a free pick-up service for as many as 300 books at a time, Book Driver use donated books to raise funds for local literacy programs as well as shipping them to various Friends of the library organizations across the United States.
Their collection driver is based nearby in San Pedro, so if you’re close to there, be sure to mention it while filling in their contact form and you can book a time to make a drop off. Alternatively, they’re happy to come to you, wherever you’re based within Los Angeles county. Once you contact them, they’ll be in contact within one business day to arrange a time and date that works for you.
Book Driver don’t accept the following types of books:
- Mildewed, damaged, or excessively notated books
- Magazines
- Photography books
- Children’s and kids books unless in excellent condition
- Encyclopedias
- Elementary and middle school learning materials
- Legal books and bound journals
BookEnds
Locations:
PATH, 340 Madison, Los Angeles, CA 90004.
Under the Sea, 204 South Sepulveda Blvd., Manhattan Beach,CA 90266.
2957 S. Sepulveda Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90064
Hours: PATH Mon-Fri 7am-5pm; Under the Sea Mon-Fri 10am-6pm
Donation Receipt: Yes
Website: BookEnds
How to Donate
This organization is specifically looking for children’s books, which are then redistributed through local literacy projects. Your gently used children’s books can be posted to BookEnds 2957 S. Sepulveda Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90064. Alternatively you can drop off in person at this address, but be sure to call first on 310-478-2665.
BookEnds also work with two local businesses (listed above) where books can be dropped off though their opening hours above.
Established in 1998 by an eight-year-old boy who, on a sick day from school, accompanied his mom to a Board of Directors meeting at Hollygrove Children’s Home. Brandon returned to school and told his 3rd grade class that his mom’s orphanage needed books, and so BookEnds put in place its first book drive.
The book drive collected more books than the children’s home knew what to do with, so Brandon accompanied his mom knocking on doors to see who else was in need of books – and it turned out there were a lot in need. Since then, they have donated over two million books to children who needed them.
Friends of the Mar Vista Library
Location: 12006 Venice Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90066
Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-4:30pm
Donation Receipt: Yes
Website: Friends of Mar Vista Library
How to Donate
Completely run through volunteers, friends of the library use donated books to sell in their library shop to fund the running of the library itself. Funds raised will also go towards the library’s various literacy projects and educational programs, so giving them your unwanted books is a great way to support your local community.
Their only criteria is that the books be in good condition, and they don’t accept textbooks which are too out of date. If you have a book which they don’t currently have within their library collection, it may even make an appearance in the library’s shelves. If you’ve a large donation to make, be sure to contact them first as storage space is limited.
Libros Schimbros Lending Library
Location: 103 N Boyle Avenue, Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, CA 90033
Hours: Wed-Sun 12-6pm
Donation Receipt: Yes
Website: Libros Schimbros
How to Donate
A bilingual library which aims to bring low-cost books to everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity or age, the lending library’s mission statement is to champion the pleasure of literature and its power to change lives. Your donated books are used to keep this institution running and distributing books to the less advantaged.
They do not accept any of the following:
- Magazines
- Manuals
- Textbooks
- Encyclopedias
- travel guides
Other than the above, as long as your books are in good condition, they’ll be happy to take them off your hands. They accept books in Spanish too.
Where To Donate Books in Los Angeles, the Sparknotes:
- Re-Book It
- Access Books
- Discover Books
- Library Foundation of Los Angeles
- Children’s Book World
- Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
- American Book Drive
- Book Driver
- Book Ends
- Friends of the Mar Vista Library
- Libros Schimbros Lending Library
Et voila! Those are the best places to donate books in Los Angeles. It’s fantastic to see such a wide scope of organizations in the city of Angels, including multiple book donation drop off locations in Los Angeles.
We hope that this has inspired, or motivated you to donate those books gathering dust on your shelf. Think of all the recipients loving the books that you have donated, and if that doesn’t put a smile on your face, we don’t know what will!