About Our Inventory
Curation
Redbud’s collections are intentional but idiosyncratic, drawing on the intelligence and expertise that exists locally. In our early efforts to cultivate relationships and highlight the knowledge of our networks and community, we called upon a number of community members who lent their perspectives to the project of building our initial inventory.
As our bookstore grows, we seek to continue showcasing the subject knowledge of our community while also responding to local needs as well as national and international events and concerns. In this way, our collections will shift and expand as our community and world change around us.
Special Orders & Purchase Suggestions
We are happy to take special orders or recommendations for titles we should stock in our store. If you would like us to order a book for you or just for our general collections, please complete the purchase request form. If it is a special order, we will get back to you within 48 hours and you can expect most titles to arrive within 7 business days (unless you request expedited shipping; extra fees apply) once the order has been placed. Please note: we process special orders once a week, and this (as well as other factors) will impact how quickly orders arrive.
Bookshop.org & Libro.fm Affiliate
Beyond the inventory we maintain in-store, as well as the option to special order titles for you, you can also support us every time you order books online. As a Bookshop.org affiliate, we earn a commission whenever you purchase books through our online Bookshop storefront. Bookshop.org is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores, and that includes us as well as other small bookstores in our community.
Community members can also support us when purchasing audiobooks through Libro.fm as well! Simply use our storefront link to browse and purchase audio versions of your favorite (or soon-to-be favorite) books, and we’ll earn a small commission on each purchase. We appreciate your support!
Used Book Donations
We accept like-new or very lightly used copies of books. As a small, independent bookstore, our capacity to evaluate, keep, or process large numbers of books is limited and thus we may not be able to consider all donation requests. If you would like to donate books, please email us at contact@redbudbooks.org to schedule an appointment with a member of our team to evaluate your potential donation. Do not dump your used books at the store without notifying us. You are welcome to drop off a handful of books to our staff at any time, but if you have a larger donation (up to 2-3 boxes or bags), please schedule an appointment with us. We will then review the books you intend to donate and make selections based on our criteria (outlined below).
Please note that we do not purchase used books; all titles are accepted as donations to Redbud Books. Potential donations must be delivered to our store (no more than 2-3 boxes or bags, unless previously approved) for consideration. Any titles we do not accept will be donated to Midwest Pages to Prisoners or another local organization with relevant needs.
While we will consider all items in excellent condition, we are primarily interested in the following genres and subject areas:
- Recent literature (fiction, essays, poetry, comics and graphic novels, dramatic works, etc.)
- Literature in translation or untranslated monographs in any language
- Academic or scholarly press titles, including journals
- Texts that align with any of our current subject areas or community interests
Please note that we do not accept books that:
- Have water or other environmental damage, mold or mildew, musty smell, insect damage, food stains, discoloration, etc.
- Contain underlinings, highlighting, marginalia, or other markings
- Show significant wear to or breakage of spines or binding
We also do not accept:
- Advanced reader copies (ARCs) or uncorrected proofs
- Unbound manuscripts
- Former library copies
- Textbooks
- Travel guides
- Encyclopedias & dictionaries
- Mass market paperbacks (with some exceptions)
- Magazines & newspapers
If you have any further questions about donating used books, please reach out to us at contact@redbudbooks.org.