Birdland Books began with a room full of books and a promise.

Hi! We're Courtney and Andrew…welcome to Birdland Books, our small, independent online bookstore!

Birdland Books began with a promise made to Courtney’s father, Ed. Ed was an English professor by trade and a lifelong lover of books. He had an endlessly curious mind and always seemed to have a book in hand in case he caught a moment to read. Over the years, Ed amassed a personal library of more than 2,000 books. His collection ranged from rare academic texts to well-worn paperbacks, Medieval studies to Southern lit, old Florida to Australia, poetry to pulp fiction. Ed likely misplaced more books than most folks have ever read.

Ed got cancer in 2018 and his time on Earth was cut short. He made a simple request about his books: Do something good with them. He wanted them in the hands of readers who would value and appreciate them as he did and made it clear that they weren’t to be sold off to someone only wanting to turn a profit.

But it turned out that doing something good with them was trickier than expected.

Charitable organizations or libraries sometimes accept book donations, but we found that donated books are typically sold off for a couple of bucks at most. Those that aren’t sold are given away (or worse, discarded). While this absolutely benefits these organizations, the quality books are oftentimes immediately resold online and much of the books’ value ends up going to Amazon in the form of fees and service charges.

In the end, there was no clear, simple way to do “something good” with them without also contributing to some billionaire’s rocket ship or data center. Ed would have hated that.

So, since we couldn’t find a way to do something good with Ed’s books, we built one.

Birdland Books was designed to give back. We operate as an online bookseller that sells used books exclusively through socially and environmentally responsible marketplaces. Through our giving program, we donate 5% of all book sales to charitable organizations that foster literacy, community, and independent thought throughout Appalachia. We also offer a charitable donation option for people who wish to donate their quality used books to support a good cause. Our mission is for Birdland Books to be a financially sustainable, environmentally ethical, and socially responsible perpetual giving machine, all starting with Ed’s library and a promise.