What do you do with travel books?
 

In the overall scheme of life these days -- Iraq, energy costs rising, Katrina and Rita, etc. -- this is not a burning issue. HOWEVER, it is increasingly important in this household:

What do I do with the 50 pounds of travel literature I have accumulated over the years?

It's a wonderful problem to have, of course, because it is the byproduct of some wonderful trips. I, for one, often get as much of a kick out of the planning as I do from the trip itself.

It's good material, including Fodor's, Frommer's, AAA, Eyewitness Travel Guides, a bit of Rick Steves and a few Zagat surveys, but there is so much of it! Some is a bit out of date, but most of it is timeless. We loan it out often, to the delight of friends who can save money they might otherwise spend on travel guides. I do not want to toss it, because we often go back to some of the places we have visited in the past, and who knows, we may go again in the future...

My question has to do with the best utilization of this collection? Do any of you give it to a particular organization, i.e., local library? I would want it to be used, not tossed, but surely there has to be a better place for it than in these plastic crates in our attic.

(The bottom line is I'm getting heat for taking up so much space in our limited storage area...)

Suggestions?

Jim

Donate to the local library, so I can go and buy them at 1/25 of their original price!! :-D

Donate them.

I generally keep my guidebooks for future reference, as I may want to travel there in the future or help out someone else who will. I don't tend to buy a whole lot of guidebooks for places I'm not that interested in, though -- I will just take them out of the library myself rather than buy them, for countries where I may be making only a short trip or that I don't think will be a return destination. So, although I have at least 6-10 references works for France/Paris (which I keep and refer to a lot), I may not have as much as you. I don't buy things like Zagats, either, for example -- I research and print out online a few restaurant reviews I want.

I throw them away when they are really out-of-date, which is after 15 years or so. They are still often good for general country descriptions, major sites that don't change, etc., up to that point. I think you have to get over the idea that your old, outdated travel guidebooks are worth something, becuase they probably aren't. It's the same syndrome that makes people think stacks of old National Geographics or Readers Digests are worth a lot--they aren't.

I do donate books to my library, and they will not accept stuff like that, either. My library has a good travel section and would not accept things that were really old. Their books are all within the last five years, for example.

Your statement is a little confusing as you said that you wanted to keep it for reference yourself at one point, and then said you want to give it away. If you want to keep it, just find a box and store it somewhere, that's what I do. I have one box of travel guides I keep in my spare room -- it's the size of a Xerox paper box from my office. Your spare crates in the attic sound okay to me.

I don't loan out my books to friends. I simply give them away to those with an upcoming trip. I assume they do the same thing when they are finished.

This is a good question. Once I left them in the B&Bs I was staying in because I didn't think I'd be going back there (Scotland). Sometimes if they're fairly recent I'll sell them on half.com.

But like you said, usually there's still good information. I bought updated Paris and Venice books for this year's trip and foolishly wondered why it all sounded familiar. But the updated bits, I feel, are worth repurchasing for!

I keep mine, as I know from past experience that I'll need something from one the day after I get rid of it.

If it were my choice here in my home town, the books would go straight to the bookshop at Hospice(Assistance and family support for Cancer patients).

I just got rid of everything pre-2000 for the most part (Fodors & Frommers mostly). I trade them in at my local used book store.

I keep most of mine. The kids say some of my guidebooks are historical fiction by now. I'm running out of both bookcases and walls. If I lend them out, I don't expect to get them back. And sometimes I too leave them in B&Bs.

I have a multi-level approach.

Most I keep, or give to friends.

If they're outdated by more than a couple of years, my local used bookstores won't buy them, unless they're something like vintage Baedekers or the kind of books that don't age too badly, like an architectural guidebook to a city. They will take older travel literature.

Even my public library's used bookstore doesn't want donated guidebooks more than about 5 years old (again, unless they're classics, travel lit, etc.). They don't sell, and they take up shelf space.

So, if all else fails, I put them on the free book exchange shelves at the local recycling center.

Think about donating them to the AAUW (American Association of University Women). They hold a book drive every year and have a huge sale (LOVE the sale) and use the money to fund scholarships in your local area for underprivaliged women who are trying to make a better life for themselves through education. See if you have a local chapter and find book drop-off locations:

http://www.aauw.org

I wonder if any charities can use them.

Being lazy, I just put mine out on the bench by the mailboxes in our apartment building, people pick them up. Other tenants do the same.

I have an idea -- SELL THEM ON EBAY!

This way you will make some money and will help someone out.

For example, I am going to Europe for the first time. I would love to read books about where to stay, what to do, history of the country...but the books are expensive.

So, just bundle all of them by country and sell them. You can get creative and do a 'special': get a good reputable book for $7 and you will get 2 more for free with it!

How about that?

Goodwill and Salvation Army both accept used books and I often donate books that I don't want to keep. Same with libraries; they accept them for "re-selling" during fund-raising periods.

e17345, why don't you check your local library? Most have a good selection of travel books. I don't buy guides for every city/place I plan to visit and use the library as well as assorted web sites for material.

My local library has an entire bookcase full of "freebies" which people have donated (mostly magazines, a few books) that the library doesn't sell at their sales. What is outdated to us, may not be to someone else. Yesterday I selected a few "In Britain" magazines from a couple dozen on the shelf--dated in the early 1980's.

I had the same dilemma. I tried to donate them to my local library but they wouldn't take them. I posted on Fodor's here in different messages for each destination what I had and that I would give it to the first person who emailed me if they would just send the cost of the postage. I ended up with 3 boxes of about 12 pounds each, one for Japan, one for Thailand and one for Paris. I learned I could mail them US post office media rate for about $8 and I was glad I could give them all away to good homes. The people who got them seemed most appreciative. I had guidebooks, language book and culture and art type books. I kept a few as "souvenirs? but shared the rest.