Or pm me or dm me or whatever if you know or willing to donate yourself. Much appreciated. Much love.
Have you tried your local thrift store? Maybe librarians might know where to get books cheaply/donations?
Thrift stores are definitely a good and cheap option. They may even work with you to provide a steep discount with a higher quantity purchase.
First of all, good on you
Would your local independent/radical bookshop be willing to help with some donations or discounts?
Or are ebooks an option? I think verso or other might have options but the may be blocked by fascist prison state
Find a small used book store. Odds are very good that they discard quite a few books in any given week, not necessarily because they are garbage, but because they just haven’t sold, or they have too many copies, or they might have comparatively minor condition issues that preclude them from selling in the store. They may give them to you, or sell them to you at a steep discount.
Talk to other libraries
If your area has them, free libraries. they are these little kiosks whee ueople leave books for others to take. They are usually overflowing.
I would also ask on whatever the equivalent of craigslist in your area. nextdoor, facebook marketplace and free exchange groups.
between all these, I could fill up a van in a day around here
I would check libraries. They have to get rid of books all the time as they get old or run out of room for things that are more wanted currently. When book from a popular series comes out or if it becomes popular they get a bunch of copies. Like sometimes as many as a dozen (back in the day at least when physical books were the main thing) but then once most of their patrons have read it and its not as big in demand they drop down to half a dozen. Later still when new crazes have surpassed it maybe 3 and when everyones forgotten about it 1 or worse 0. Of course they will always retain the ones in best condition.
Goodwill outlets or “the bins” (assuming you are in the U.S.). They sell stuff by the pound and often charge less for books. It’s like the last stop for stuff before it goes to a landfill. My husband constantly finds great books there.
Our local libraries have two book sales a month, and give away any you want that don’t sell.
Pallets, often of mixed books, get sold via auction at the post office reclimation center. You must arrange pickup and shipping. https://www.govdeals.com/en/asset/145908/4703
Something I really wish I didn’t know about. Hope it’s useful.
Make sure the jail will accept the donation before you stock up. Different institutions might have different approved supplier lists because there have been issues with contraband as well as administrators who just like to make having even the simplest of comforts as difficult as possible. Having been a volunteer with the incarcerated, don’t forget that depending on where you live you might have a lot of folks who don’t read English and would appreciate books in their language, and middle school/high school reading level books might be appropriate for some of the folk’s current reading level. I’ve generally found that public, school, and college library discards can be arranged if there’s no middle man handling the books. Even slightly outdated textbooks are useful for people studying for GED or learning ESL.
Better World Books has donation drop boxes near me.
Be sure to make sure they will let you bring them those books too. Some corrective institutions prohibit books unless they come shipped direct from the source (like Amazon for example).
Contact larger libraries.
I live in NYC and the public libraries here literally throw away tons of books every year. The big city libraries and colleges in your area probably do the same.
^^ This is very good. Also schools! I had a highschool giving out literal trucks of books a couple times.
I bet if you put up an ad, on Facebook marketplace or whatever your equivalent is, stating that you are willing to pick up boxes of books (I’d recommend a 3 or 4 box minimum but whatever) people will contact you.
Thrift shops, yard sales… also local libraries often release their old books when new copies come in, so that’s an angle to investigate…
