books · Ontario

Where to donate books, records and media in London

4 organizations in and around London 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 4 will not take large appliancesDiabetes Canada — Declutter for Diabetes, Goodwill Industries, Ontario Great Lakes, Talize
  • 3 of 4 will not take hazardous materialDiabetes Canada — Declutter for Diabetes, Goodwill Industries, Ontario Great Lakes, Talize
  • 2 of 4 will not take mattresses and box springsGoodwill Industries, Ontario Great Lakes, Talize
  • 2 of 4 will not take anything damaged or stainedGoodwill Industries, 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 →

4 places in London that take books

Diabetes Canada — Declutter for Diabetes

Will collect, conditions apply
TakesClothing of all types, Shoes and boots, Curtains, Cameras, Cell phones, Laptops and tablets, Books, Cookware, pots and pans, Small household appliances
Won't takeAll furniture, Large appliances, Televisions and computer monitors, Hazardous materials, Flammable products
CollectionFree home collection, but only when they have a scheduled run in your area — enter your postal code on their site to check. Items must be in sealed bags or boxes under 40 lb and left on the doorstep; loose items are not collected.
WhereNational program operating as National Diabetes Trust. No London street address to publish — donors either book a pickup or use the donation bin finder on their site.
Visit their site →1-800-505-5525

Goodwill Industries, Ontario Great Lakes

Not stated - ask them
TakesClothing, Household items and housewares, Books, Electronics, computers and phones, Cameras, Shoes and linens, Small appliances under 50 lbs, Small furniture under 50 lbs, Televisions and monitors under 50 lbs, Video games, Backpacks and purses, Wheelchairs and walkers
Won't takeMattresses and box springs, Large furniture and heavy items over 50 lbs, Hazardous, recalled or banned items, or items not meeting current safety standards, Large appliances, Construction materials, Damaged furniture, Food, Paint and chemicals, Pianos, Swimming pools, Weapons
CollectionTheir donate page describes drop-off at a Donation Centre and never mentions a home pickup service. Do not imply one exists. They also state plainly: 'All donations must be clean and in resale condition.'
WhereLondon presence is confirmed on their own about page, which names London in the list of communities served, and their head office address is in London. Their locator page states 'Goodwill, Ontario Great Lakes operates over 45 Donation Centres across Southern Ontario' — but the actual location list renders dynamically and showed only a 'Loading…' placeholder, so I could NOT verify a single specific London donation centre address. Link to their locator at https://www.goodwillindustries.ca/donation-centre-locator/ and publish no London street address. The researcher's figure was unsourced; 'over 45' is their own wording. Head office: 255 Horton Street East, 2nd Floor, London, Ontario N6B 1L1.
Visit their site →519-850-9000

Recycle My Electronics Ontario (EPRA)

Will collect, conditions apply
TakesDisplay devices, Desktop computers, Portable computers, Phones, cell and smart phones, Home audio/video systems and home-theatre-in-a-box, Personal and portable audio/video, Cameras and security cameras, Video gaming systems and peripherals, Floor standing printers and printer cartridges, Computer peripherals, IT and telecom equipment including servers and hard drives, Musical instruments and recording equipment, Drones, Aftermarket vehicle audio/video
CollectionTheir book-my-pick-up page is open to households as well as businesses but states: 'programs have minimum requirements for pick-ups. If your request doesn't meet our minimum requirements - we will be in touch to arrange a customized solution.' The minimums and any fees are not published. For a normal household load the route is drop-off, via their location finder. Their site does NOT state that drop-off is free, so do not claim it is.
WhereEPRA is an industry-led not-for-profit running the regulated Ontario program; there is no single address. Link to https://recyclemyelectronics.ca/on/drop-off-locations/. IMPORTANT: the location list renders dynamically and I could not confirm a specific London drop-off site, so publish the finder link and nothing more. This is still the right destination for the TVs, monitors and dead electronics that Diabetes Canada, Goodwill and the thrift chains all turn away.
A regulated recycling program, not a charity. Electronics are dismantled and recycled, not reused.
Visit their site →1-833-FOR-EPRA

Talize

Drop off only
TakesClothing, Fashion accessories, Shoes, Linens, Books, Toys, Housewares
Won't takeBaby car seats, Cribs, Strollers, Helmets, Smoke and CO2 detectors, Mattresses, Furniture, Large appliances, Hazardous materials, Broken items
CollectionQuoted verbatim from their donate page: 'Talize unfortunately doesn't offer home pick-ups.' Drop-off only, at the store.
Where1345 Huron Street, Unit 1A, London, ON N5V 2E9
Visit their site →(519) 455-1112

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 London →

Other things in London

furniture4 placesappliances4 placeselectronics4 placesclothes5 placeskitchenware4 places

Books in other cities

Calgary6 placesEdmonton3 placesHalifax5 placesHamilton5 placesKitchener–Waterloo5 placesMontréal5 placesOttawa5 placesQuébec City6 placesSaskatoon5 placesToronto5 placesVancouver9 placesVictoria3 placesWinnipeg5 places