How To Prepare Books for Pickup
Most of what people do to get ready for a book pickup is unnecessary. Here is the short list of what genuinely helps, and the longer list of what you can skip.
What actually helps
- Use small boxes. This is the big one. Books are far heavier than people expect, and a large box filled with hardcovers cannot be safely lifted by anyone. Grocery store banana boxes are close to perfect: strong, free, and the right size. Liquor store boxes work too.
- Do not tape them shut. We sort as we load, and taped boxes have to be opened anyway.
- Keep them dry. If boxes are going to sit in a garage overnight, get them off the concrete. A pallet, a shelf, or even a folded tarp is enough. Florida concrete sweats and paper drinks it.
- Pull out anything moldy. Bag it separately. One musty box can spoil what it travels with, and it is the single thing we are strict about.
- Check inside the covers. Money, photographs and letters turn up in books constantly. Give anything sentimental a quick fan.
- Use the notes box on the form. Gate codes, which door, where to park, whether there are stairs, whether there is a dog. This is the part that saves the most time on the day.
What you can skip entirely
- Sorting by subject, author or size. We sort everything anyway.
- Cleaning or dusting them. Genuinely unnecessary.
- Removing dust jackets, library stickers or price stickers.
- Separating the good from the bad. You will guess wrong in both directions, and it is our job.
- Carrying anything to the curb. We come to where the books are.
- Being home, if you would rather not be. Plenty of pickups happen with a porch, a garage code or a front desk.
How many books is thirty?
Thirty books is our minimum for a pickup, and it is less than it sounds. Roughly:
| Container | Roughly how many books |
|---|---|
| One banana box | 30 to 40 |
| One paper grocery bag | 10 to 15 |
| One standard bookshelf, three feet wide | 30 to 40 per shelf |
| A full 5 shelf bookcase | 150 to 200 |
| A wall of shelves in a study | 500 to 1,000 |
If you have one full bookcase, you are comfortably over the minimum. If you are close to the line, count shelves rather than books, it is far quicker.
If the books are still on the shelves
That is fine, and for large collections it is often better. Tell us on the form and we will bring boxes. For anything over a few hundred books we arrive with our own packing supplies as a matter of course.
What to tell us about access
The notes box on the pickup form is the most useful field on it. Things worth mentioning:
- Gate codes, or that we need adding to a guest list. Guard gates will turn us away otherwise, and this is the most common cause of a delayed pickup.
- Which door to use, and how far it is from where a vehicle can stop.
- Stairs, and whether there is an elevator.
- Condo or apartment loading dock rules, and the building name so we can call the office.
- A dog, even a friendly one.
- Narrow driveways, low branches, or a shared drive we should not block.
On the day
A normal household load takes about fifteen minutes. A full library can take a few hours. You do not need to help, and you do not need to supervise. We sweep up the dust line the books leave behind, which is always worse than anyone expects.
Need the books gone?
We collect for free across Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough County. Thirty books minimum, no charge, same business day reply.