This is a guide for Law Society members who want to donate or sell collections of legal books.
The booksellers and suppliers mentioned are examples only, as we do not endorse any organisations.
Donating to our library
We welcome donations of specific titles to extend our collection.
We cannot buy titles or cover your postage costs, since our priority is our current collection.
Send us a list of titles and we’ll let you know if we can take them.
Contact us:
Book buyers
These organisations will buy unwanted books from libraries and individuals:
Provides the opportunity to give away or sell unwanted materials three times a year as well as ask for wanted items.
Valuations
You may wish to get a valuation before selling or donating books.
Insurance valuations assess the cost of replacing the books. Sale valuations assess the amount you could expect to make if you sell the books.
Insurance valuations tend to be higher than sale valuations, so it’s important to be clear which kind of valuation you need.
Law firms may want to get a valuation before a merger or sale, so that the library can be included as part of the firm’s assets.
The following organisations value collections for insurance, auction or probate:
Sale at auction
If you think your books may be rare or valuable, you may consider auctioneers.
Legal books are more likely to be valuable if they were printed before 1800.
Make sure the auctioneer you use has experience of selling legal material.
Ask to see a similar sale catalogue and find out whether catalogues are widely circulated, so that you can be sure the auctioneer will find potential buyers.
Have a list of the items you want to sell with editions and dates.
Auctioneers that deal with legal books include: