books · Ontario

Where to donate books, records and media in Hamilton

5 organizations in and around Hamilton that take donated books — what each one accepts, what it turns away, and which will come and collect it.

Verified 2026-09-24 from each organization's own website. We are not affiliated with anyone listed here, nobody pays to be included, and we receive nothing if you donate to them.

How to tell what you have got

Before you call anyone, two minutes with the object settles most of it. None of this needs an expert — it needs a flashlight and a look at the back.

  • LPs in almost any genre except classical, opera and overstocked easy listeningLook up the exact pressing's completed sales on Discogs, not its asking prices. Audiopile says it reads the median price rather than the highest, also looks at the "Wants" count to judge sellability, and warns that online prices do not necessarily reflect the local market. Pressing origin matters — it pays more for Japanese, UK and other imports — so read the catalogue and matrix numbers on the label and in the run-out groove, not just the artist.
  • Records you were about to throw out because they look roughPut the visibly damaged records in a separate box and take them along anyway rather than sorting them into the bin.
  • Antiquarian books, modern firsts, fine bindings and local historyLook for a dust jacket present and intact, a date on the title page matching the copyright page with no later printing line, and an author signature. With none of those it is probably an ordinary secondhand book — but anything pre-1900, finely bound, or local history should be seen by a dealer before you decide.
  • Books published in the last five years, and classics in new editionsCheck the copyright page. If the newest date is more than five years old and the book is nonfiction, Halifax is not the stop for it — and its cap is 20 items per household in any case.
  • Children's and teen books printed since 2000, in gift conditionIt specifically wants board and baby books, preschool titles, popular series, graphic novels, non-fiction on nature, animals and space, and books with diverse characters. Its refusal list is short and exact: textbooks, encyclopedias, workbooks, library books, self-published books and damaged books.
  • CDs with no scratches, with their original linersA disc in a wallet or binder that still has its liner meets Halifax's rule. Discs stripped of their artwork are the hard ones to place.
  • Cassettes, where they are collectible rather than commonAudiopile's distinction is between common commercial tapes and collectible ones; a tape recorded or dubbed at home is neither. Sealed or small-run commercial releases are the ones worth asking about.

What this list turns away

Counted from what each place says on its own site, not from what is generally true. Most refusals are about condition and completeness rather than category.

  • 3 of 5 will not take mattresses and box springsDrop 'n' Shop Thrift Store (Community Living Hamilton), Goodwill, Ontario Great Lakes, Talize
  • 3 of 5 will not take large appliancesDrop 'n' Shop Thrift Store (Community Living Hamilton), Goodwill, Ontario Great Lakes, Talize
  • 3 of 5 will not take hazardous materialDrop 'n' Shop Thrift Store (Community Living Hamilton), Goodwill, Ontario Great Lakes, Talize
  • 3 of 5 will not take car seats and cribsDrop 'n' Shop Thrift Store (Community Living Hamilton), Safetynet Charities, Talize
  • 3 of 5 will not take anything damaged or stainedDrop 'n' Shop Thrift Store (Community Living Hamilton), Goodwill, Ontario Great Lakes, Talize

Rarely worth anything

Not a rule, and not a reason to bin something without asking. These are the things people most often expect to be worth money and find are not.

  • General mass-market paperbacks
  • Reader's Digest Condensed Books and other book-club condensed editions
  • Encyclopedia sets
  • Ex-library books and library discards
  • Outdated textbooks and computer manuals
  • Travel guides
  • Magazines, including long runs of National Geographic
  • Classical and opera LPs
  • Easy-listening and middle-of-the-road LPs
  • VHS tapes and ordinary audio cassettes
  • Used DVDs and Blu-rays, as a sale
  • Anything mouldy, musty, water-damaged, yellowed or heavily highlighted
  • Self-published books and workbooks
  • Hardcovers and spiral-bound books, as a prison donation
Prison book programs take softcovers only, and screen the content Canada — correctional institutions, via Books to Prisoners BC (Vancouver)

Books to Prisoners BC says that most prisons in Canada do not accept hardcover books, so it prefers that you do not donate them; it adds that hardcovers weigh more and cost more to ship. Spiral-bound books are also on its not-accepted list, along with damaged books, pornography, anything explaining how to immobilize a person, Canadian true crime about people currently incarcerated, and books critical of Canadian police and prison systems. Do not mail books to a prisoner directly on the assumption they will arrive.

Read the rule →
Hardcover books must be taken apart before the parts go in the carts City of Calgary, Alberta

Calgary instructs residents to remove cardboard hard covers and spines and recycle them as separate items from the pages, and to put coverless and loose pages into the recycling. Leather, canvas and plastic book covers go in the black cart as garbage. Old and unusable paper books may go in the blue cart or a community recycling depot.

Read the rule →
Discs and tapes that cannot be reused are garbage; only the paper parts are recyclable City of Calgary, Alberta

Calgary directs old and broken discs and tapes — vinyl records, CDs, DVDs and video tapes — to the black cart as garbage, while paper covers, music liners and record sleeves go in the blue cart. Its first advice is to pass usable media on to family and friends, sell it, or donate it to a local charity.

Read the rule →
Tapes, CDs, DVDs and records that cannot be reused go in the garbage; cases and inserts go in recycling Peel Region (Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon), Ontario

Peel Region states that video and audio tapes, CDs, DVDs and records that cannot be re-used may be placed in the garbage for disposal, and that empty cassette or video boxes, printed paper sleeves and inserts go in the recycling cart or a clear or blue transparent plastic bag. Reusable items in good condition may be donated at some Community Recycling Centre locations, where staff have the right to refuse items on inspection.

Read the rule →
Cassettes, CDs and DVDs are not accepted in the Blue Bin City of Toronto, Ontario

Toronto's Blue Bin page names cassettes, CDs and DVDs under other plastics that do not belong in the bin. Books are not listed on either the accepted or the not-accepted side — they appear only in a photo caption of paper items — and the page tells residents to check the Waste Wizard tool when they are unsure, which is the only authoritative answer for books in Toronto.

Read the rule →

5 places in Hamilton that take books

Drop 'n' Shop Thrift Store (Community Living Hamilton)

Not stated - ask them
TakesClothing, shoes and accessories, Kitchenware, Books, DVDs and CDs, Cameras, Toys and games, Sporting goods
Won't takeLarge furniture, Major appliances, Mattresses, Computers and phones, VHS tapes, Propane tanks, Paint, Car seats and cribs, Helmets, Dirty or broken items
CollectionNo pickup service is mentioned on their site. Drop-off only.
Where37 Kilbride Rd, Hamilton, ON L8W 3P2
Visit their site →905-385-3434

Goodwill, Ontario Great Lakes

Not stated - ask them
TakesClothing and shoes, Household items, Books, Electronics, Small appliances, Furniture (small / under 50 lbs only)
Won't takeMattresses and boxsprings, Large furniture and heavy items over 50 lbs, Damaged furniture, Large appliances, Pianos, Swimming pools, Weapons, Food, Hazardous materials, Items that have been recalled or banned, or do not meet current safety standards
CollectionNo pickup service is described anywhere on their donation page — it describes taking donations to a Donation Centre, where "our Donation Attendant will be there to accept your donation."
WhereHamilton presence confirmed on their own About page, which names Hamilton among the regions they operate in. Their locator page states they operate "over 45 Donation Centres across Southern Ontario" but the interactive list does not render, so no Hamilton address could be read. Link to https://www.goodwillindustries.ca/donation-centre-locator/ and let readers search.
Visit their site →

Safetynet Charities

Not stated - ask them
TakesCouches, Tables (dining, coffee, bedside), Chairs, Drawers, Lamps, Mirrors, Desks, Bookshelves
Won't takeCribs, Car seats
CollectionThere is an online form to schedule a donation pickup, but their page does not state whether donor pickup is free or which areas it covers. CRITICAL, and the researcher got this right: the $200–$400 figures on that page are DELIVERY charges paid by the families receiving furniture, not by donors. Do not let the page imply a donor fee. Confirm terms at furniture@safetynetservices.ca or 905-845-7233.
WhereNo public storefront. Hamilton is confirmed in their service area on their own page ("Mississauga, Hamilton add $50 for extra distance"), alongside Oakville, Halton and Mississauga. The researcher's charity BN number was not verified and has been removed.
Works by Ontario Works / ODSP referral rather than public donation, and its $200–$400 charge is a delivery fee paid by the receiving family — not a donor pickup fee.
Visit their site →905-845-7233

Talize

Drop off only
TakesClothing, Fashion accessories, Shoes, Linens, Books, Toys, Housewares
Won't takeFurniture, Mattresses, Large appliances, Baby car seats, cribs and strollers, Helmets, Paint, Propane tanks, Very dirty, wet or broken items
CollectionStated plainly on their own donation page: "Talize unfortunately doesn't offer home pick-ups." Drop off bagged items at the store's Donation Centre.
WhereTheir own locations page lists 15 stores (13 in Ontario, 2 in BC) and Hamilton is one of them, but the Hamilton address and donation hours did not render. Link to https://talize.com/locations/ rather than publishing an address.
Visit their site →

Value Village (Hamilton — Fennell Avenue)

Not stated - ask them
TakesClothing & shoes, Backpacks & purses, Bed & bath, Housewares, Small appliances, Small furniture, Books & media, Games & toys, Electronics, Exercise & sporting goods
Won't takeNo list of refused items is published on the store page. Call ahead for anything large or unusual.
CollectionNo pickup service is described. Donations are handed in at the Community Donation Centre at the store, open Mon–Sat 9:00am–9:00pm and Sun 9:00am–7:00pm.
Where530 Fennell Avenue East, Hamilton, ON L8V 1S9
A for-profit retailer, not a charity. It pays a nonprofit partner for donated goods — the partner differs by store, so ask at the door if that matters to you.
Visit their site →(905) 318-0409

Not sure what you have got?

Photograph it and we will tell you what it is and what it is worth — including when the honest answer is that it is worth nothing.

See what it's worth Sell it instead → Everything in Hamilton →

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