The Bay Area Free Book Exchange, a public book exchange that has given away more than half a million books since 2009, is shutting its doors due to a “massive rent increase.” The rent is reportedly going up 70 percent, according to SF Gate.
“So far, there are no plans to relocate as we haven’t found an affordable space in the nearby areas,” explains the website.
The East Bay organization operated by taking book donations, selling some books on eBay in order to pay the bills and then giving the rest away for free. The service will close permanently on May 17th. Until then, readers can still donate and take books every weekend 9am-6pm. “All books on All shelves are FREE!!; but we do have a limit of 100 books per person per day,” explains the organization’s site.