It is inevitable that every book will eventually outlive it's usefulness, whether because of age, condition, content, lack of interest, or a whole host of other reasons. There are many way to discard books. Ask at your local library what measures are in place to ensure that unused items are not being wasted. Below are some of my favorites.
Artistic Options
Many libraries are creative with their discarded items, such as the Pace library at the University of West Florida, which encourages students to turn old books into creative art pieces like this one. Pages from old books also make for some great decoupage, you can also use them for garlands and wreaths, and a host of other things as well.
Resale
In addition, many libraries will offer a permanent or regular book sale where items in good conditions can be purchased for a fairly low price. These serve to both give people access to books that they would not normally have, as well as supplementing the library's limited funding. As stated in earlier blogs, funding is always restrictive for libraries, and the small amount you pay for a book at a library book sale goes towards funding new resources, services, or events in for your community.
Donation
Sometimes, items can be donated to other libraries like those in schools or prisons, which often have chronically underfunded libraries. Prison libraries especially suffer from a lack of good options, and very little funding, and there are several organizations focused on providing books to incarcerated people.
Recycling
When all else fails, and especially when books are too damaged to do anything with them, libraries can always be responsible enough to recycle as much as possible. However, libraries have to work with local regulations concerning what can and can't be recycled.
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