anybook.biz - giving back to libraries

The idea was simple: provide libraries with another income stream by taking books that they no longer needed and selling them to people who did.

So in 1998 anybook.biz. was founded in Greenwich England, in a small room sandwiched between a travel agent and a post office - which it turned out, was rather handy!

Libraries immediately saw the advantages we offered were not simply monetary; by solving the perennial problem of what to do with redundant stock, librarians were able to reclaim vital shelf space and save innumerable hours of work.

Initially, we mainly served academic libraries as online book shoppers tended to be students or lecturers who were more computer literate, but very quickly public libraries and local authorities got in touch as well - such that within a few years we were helping hundreds of libraries the length and breadth of the United Kingdom and even some in France, Germany & Scandinavia!

Now based in Lincoln, anybook.biz. continues to return hundreds of thousands of pounds to libraries all over Britain.

In 2011 anybook.biz launched its 'Anybook Your Library' program to help local libraries to continue to carry out their excellent work. As we believe that resources generated locally are best used locally - rather than send libraries' earnings to some anonymous charity, we help communities to help themselves by turning their unwanted books into valuable cash for local libraries.

If you want to be a part of this exciting initiative to help your local library, please click here and on behalf of libraries all over Britain we thank you!


Iain Gooch Deputy Locality Manager Iain was also a teacher, who wanted to be like Dallas and work for a cool company like anybook.biz. He rides a big motorbike and loves camping and playing his guitar.	Dallas Mumby Locality Manager Dallas was a teacher in Germany and the UK, but finally managed to escape in 2004 when she joined anybook.biz. She speaks French and German and enjoys travel and reading.	David Buckley Library Liaison David was not a teacher but came to us from an aviation and military background. He enjoys walking his dogs and is not a football supporter.


John Mumby Warehouse Manager John is a retired technical illustrator with a penchant for construction. He has single-handedly built enough shelves to stretch from Lincoln to Cambridge!	Ruhena Ali Sales Ruhena has been working in sales for five years and loves to read and shop - although not necessarily at the same time.	Ellie Cottrell Sales After graduating, Ellie took a summer job with us and never left. She has travelled widely and gets away whenever she can.


Robin Watson Distribution Before joining anybook.biz, Robin worked for an electrical wholesaler. He also enjoys travelling, listening to music, reading, socialising with friends, watching sports and playing snooker. He is not a Stoke City supporter but supports Lincoln City.	Dave Nicklin Pickups Dave is a good bloke. Librarians have described him variously - 'He is simply a delightful chap and a real credit to your organisation', 'Dave is a gem'. He is however a Stoke City supporter.	Ken Holmes Distribution Ken worked for another book e-tailer before joining anybook.biz a year ago. A keen rock climber and scuba diver he tells us he has a thirst for adventure which makes him an ideal anybook.biz employee. We agree he is ideal...