selling collections

We're getting older and have a smallish collection of Chinese Art books - about 9 board feet. I'm trying to find a bookseller who would be interested.
What are you going to do with your collections as you get older?

Laurie

I will probably start to sell parts of my collection that no longer interest me, first. I may later start selling other parts of the collection. The question then is what is the best way to sell your books. I think the answer to that would have much to do with the type and quality of the books you consider selling. If the quality is good enough, you might consider auctioning the books. Probably if the books are fairly run of the mill items, finding a book dealer who would like to buy the books may be a good way to go. Of course a seller has to consider that no matter how the books are sold they will probably not bring the top value. Auctions have fees and book sellers need to make money to stay in business. The only way to get top value for your books, you would have to find the ultimate buyer and sell the books to the buyer yourself.
I may consider donating a few select books to select libraries or museums. But I would have to be sure the books would be used where they were donated, and not sold to raise cash for the institution. If the books are to be sold, I might as well sell them myself.

Some will be given to family, some will be sold and some will be donated. It all depends on many factors. For example, none of my family is interested in press books/fine printing, etc., so those will be sold or donated to an institutional library. My Western history books will likely go to a university/college. You get the idea.

Through these processes, I hope that by the time my demise is at hand, I will have culled the library down to

I have thought of this as well. I have some very specific collections that would benefit from being sent to a university collection... except having worked in university collections, I know how they are viewed and culled... so I'm torn. I could just sell them to private collectors and donate that money to the university (or go wild and spend it myself). But overall, it's a tough decision that does need to be made.

For now, all of my children are very interested in reading and in owing physical books, so this might not be an issue for me or for my family. I am sure that my kids will want to keep my books.
If my descendants are not interested in keeping the books, they can sell them through auction houses, etc. This way the books will end up in hands of people who will appreciate them - just like many books in my collection came to me.
For special collections, such as Chinese Art books mentioned in the 1st post above, it might be good to contact a book specialist in an auction house to see how they might evaluate the collection. Depending on timing and interest of collectors, auction houses might be a good and secure (and easy) way of selling your specialized collections. Auction specialists might also make recommendations about selling all books as a lot, in groups, or individually.
There is always ebay (with 15% seller fees for books) and various Facebook groups of specific interests where one can sell books, too. Ebay might be the most time-consuming, if there are many books to sell; however, I would not discard it - it is still a good option to get good prices for your valuables.

I have seen what university libraries do with books that do not end up in special collections, and I am not inclined to donate my books to a university or to a public library, unless they guarantee that donations would go to special collection sections. :)

Sometimes art museums, like The Getty, are interested in art books they do not have. It all depends on how uncommon the Chinese Art books are.

Most donations to institutions include the proviso that they can trade or sell anything they don't want.

You'll have to communicate with likely institutions to see if they are even interested on the timeline you have in mind.

James

>4 genesisdiem:, >5 booksforreading: You have to choose your institutions carefully. Select one which has the ability, funding and desire to properly curate your contributions. In my case, one of my core collections is private presses/fine printing. When the time comes, I will first review potential recipients on the basis of whether or not they have an interest in such things (id est University of Iowa Libraries Special Collections, Rochester Institute of Technology, Univ. of Nebraska at Omaha Special Collections, etc.) then contact my first choice and enquire as to whether or not they are interested in adding my books to their collections. Of course, I will provide them with a short title catalogue of the books I wish to give them. The same goes for any other specialized collection in my library. Some items may go to the local community college; some to the U. of Montana with which I have connections in the archives/special collections, and others.... Well, time will tell.

If one is contemplating a donation, look up the WorldCat "permalinks" or the OCLC number and add them to your Comments or Private Comments field. You might also want to note the number of same-edition copies in WorldCat.

Institutions considering a donation will want to know if

(A) do they have it ?
(B) do many other institutions have it ?
(C) will it fit into their acquisition scope ?
(D) will anyone travel to consult the copy ?

If you provide this information, it will help them. It may also help with your appreciation of the context of your book. If there are more than a couple dozen copies in WorldCat member catalogs, it is probably not going to make your recipient especially excited. They might appreciate it as part of a larger collection if it is comprehensive.

James

One has to be careful to be very specific in her/his will when leaving personal libraries to institutions. There was a collector on another forum a few years ago who mentioned many times leaving his collection to a library; however, when he passed unexpectedly, many of his books appeared on ebay, which was not what he wanted.

>9 booksforreading: Which is a good argument for donating them BEFORE you pass on. None of us expect to kick off any time soon, BUT we do have some intimation of our own mortality and getting things distributed while still alive and kicking is a good idea. I just passed 74, and will be doing precisely that, either by gift or by sale. I will be downsizing the various collections that my recently deceased wife and I have accumulated over the years, not just the books, of which there are a plethora. I might live another twenty years...or not. Who can say? So, I say better safe than sorry.

>10 Glacierman:
Yes, it makes sense, but it might be difficult to part with beloved books...
I wish you many years in good health! Also, my condolences for the loss of your wife!

We have no immediate relatives that would want our books, so we have indicated the estate take the books to various sellers who would be able to buy them: my major collection goes to the rare book store I have requented for years, our comics go to our fav comic book collectore, our general books to our used books store who often handles estates. These sellers would then pay the estate for what every they purchase. I do have a few books picked out for specific friends who will appreciate them; they are listed in our wills