How To Dispose Or Repurpose Old Encyclopedias (2024)

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How to dispose of old encyclopedias?

• Dale Strickland on Apr 09, 2015

  Cut pages about 3/4 away make a box glue all books together wrap around the box to create the effect of encyclopedias on a shelf. I use mine to hide wireless tv stuff and I have another set of books I use for hidden storage

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• Terri Oliver Young on Apr 09, 2015

  Contact a local art gallery or studio and ask if there are any paper artists in your area. Tell them what you have and they may have suggestions. Some artists like to use books and upcycle them into works of art. I've turned old Readers Digests into scrapbooks, used old discolored dictionary pages to draw on.

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• Kathi on Apr 09, 2015

  donate to thrift store

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• Jan Loehr on Apr 09, 2015

  Thrift store or Goodwill ....!

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  • OhSally on Apr 10, 2015

    @Jan Loehr I've discovered most thrift stores won't take encyclopedias any more. They need things they can resale and nobody wants a whole set of old encyclopedias

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• Wanda Arganbright on Apr 09, 2015

  I love to use the pages in all sorts of crafts. Try using specific pages with certain words for effect. Like "love" on a valentines card. You get the idea.

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  See Also

  Valuable Encyclopedias — Rare Books DigestI Read the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and I'll Miss It
• June on Apr 09, 2015

  First, check to see if your community's recycling program will take them. Ask first. If not, try earth911.org

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• Brenda Goodell VanderZanden on Apr 09, 2015

  Recycle - many Goodwill type won't accept them any longer because the pages draw mold.

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• Michelle curcio on Apr 10, 2015

  try your local library, depending on the age, they may take them...or even Girl/Boy Scout Troops, they might have a use for them for art projects.

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• Jhmarie on Apr 10, 2015

  My recycling center has a bin for hardcover books.

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• Teddy on Apr 10, 2015

  When my daughter and her husband bought a house, one room was set up as an office with bookcases. They asked if they could have our old encyclopedia set so they could fill their bookcases and "look smart"!! That worked for me -- I had an empty shelf at my house.

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• Panamachick on Apr 10, 2015

  glue and stack 5 high + a slim acrylic sheet (or glass) on top and make night tables for guest room OR divide equally into 4 (+ acrylic/glass) and use as a coffee table in your den!

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• Leah M on Apr 10, 2015

  I've seen people "paper" a room with pages from books. This might be a use for them. I actually have a 1960's set in storage in one of my sheds that I use for reference for writing "period" fan stories from shows in the 1960's. I also loaned one to a friend so she could have a photo of a helicopter from that time. Maybe not too helpful if you don't write stories set in the 1960's, late 1950's or early 1970's, but you might see if anyone on Craig'slist would want them...

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• Rose on Apr 10, 2015

  WHERE I LIVE NO THRIFT SHOP OR GOODWILL WANT THESE BOOKS,THEY ARE PRETTY MUCH USELESS UNLESS YOU LIVE IN THE STICKS AND HAVE NO COMPUTER,BUT YOU CAN DO ART WITH THE PAGES,LOOK UP BOOK PAGE SCULPTURE,ITS QUITE EASY AND LOOKS GREAT ON A SHELF,GOOD LUCK...

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• Sassy on Apr 11, 2015

  One year for Christmas my daughter made me a hiding place by gluing all the pages of a book together then cutting out a hollow in the center. Sitting on the book shelf you can't tell which book is the book with a "treasure" inside.

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• Lorairving on Apr 13, 2015

  I took mine to a business that does a day program for the handicapped. If nothing else, they can cut pictures out of them to decorate pages. Some enjoy flipping through pages, & if they get torn, they were used by them.

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• H on Mar 21, 2016

  I've used the picture pages to recover old lamp shades. Italian architecture.. the books are awesome and soon they'll be all gone. The encyclopaedia Britannica has very fine paper, like a bible paper, perfect for covering walls. the pattern the pages make is really cool.

  

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• Ann|The Apple Street Cottage on Feb 24, 2023

  Check with your local library or a school.

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• Redcatcec on Aug 11, 2023

  Go to the top of this page and type in Book Crafts, you will see lots of ideas.

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• Kim |Exquisitely Unremarkable on Aug 27, 2023

  I suppose you could donate the set. If you want to get crafty you could frame a few pages or use them as wallpaper or drawer liner. That would be very interesting...and educational!

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