[aaachilless]

One of the rationalizations I use for collecting books is that, by organizing them in a certain way, I can constantly reinforce my model of the structure of certain topics. On top of that, the physical presence of certain books is intermingled with what they contain in such a way that I think it_might help retention.

That said, I've given away a ton of books lately, and plan on keeping the books I own to a minimum until I have the means to construct a really strong library, which I do think is a positive endeavor.

Also, tangentially related, does anyone have any suggestions on a good org to donate books to? I've seen one too many awesome sets of books mangled in Goodwill bins, and am looking for a new option.

[martinpw]

I believe public libraries are usually happy to accept book donations.

[jhbadger]

True, but rarely do they actually incorporate the donations into their collections. More typically, they combine the donations with books they've culled from their collections and sell them in "Friends of the Library" sales to raise money. Which is all good and fine, but not often what people think will happen.

[votepaunchy]

Which are often immediately sold to the general public in a used book sale.

[Naga]

I have no problem with that. Selling used books as an individual is hard, since people will not pay a lot of money for them (since brand new books are cheap), so at least for me I find its not worth the time to sell them. At least then the public library benefits from the donation.

[pimlottc]

What's wrong with that? The library gets money and the book goes to someone that wants it. Win-win.