Alternative recipients for donations

• Better World Books
  A "for profit social enterprise" which channels some of its profits into global literacy initiatives. Mainly interested in books with an ISBN, but antiquarian/rare books are also handled by a separate department.
• Anybook
  They collect from libraries or individuals. You can specify that a proportion of any profits go back to a library of your choice.
• Oxfam Bookshops
  Oxfam has a network of bookshops across the country as well as a central online shop.

Sources of information about older material

• How much is my old book worth?
  Guidance from online Antiquarian bookseller Abebooks:

Do you have an old book and would like know its value? One very simple method of finding an approximate value of a book is to search for similar copies on AbeBooks.co.uk and see what prices are being asked. Please remember that an old or antique book is not necessary valuable just because it’s old. Common books like the works of William Shakespeare, prayer books, Bibles and encyclopedias were printed in huge quantities during the Victorian era and usually have little value. AbeBooks is very useful for finding an approximate value of a book but don’t use that value for insurance purposes. If you really need a documented estimate of a book’s value (for probate or insurance purposes) then visit your local rare bookshop and pay for a formal appraisal.

• Your old books
  Some frequently asked questions, carefully answered by the Rare Books & Manuscripts Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries (American Library Association).