Where to buy used books in Pasadena

Updated 9/3/2026

Pasadena, California keeps its secondhand books in one thin downtown strip and leaves everything else to the San Gabriel Valley. Three of the twelve stops here are inside the city itself: The Battery Books & Music on South Los Robles Avenue, Century Books over in Green Street Village, and the shop the Pasadena library's Friends keep at their Jefferson Branch outpost on East Villa Street, a mile and a half from the middle of town. Everything after that wants a car and a route — South Pasadena two and a half miles south-southwest, San Marino under three southeast, Alhambra just under four, Sierra Madre five east-northeast, Monterey Park six due south, Arcadia six and a half east and Monrovia eight. Where a stop sits outside Pasadena, its first line names the town you are driving to.

Eight of the twelve are volunteer operations attached to a public library, which changes both how you shop and how you unload. They price low, restock from donations instead of a buying budget, and publish their limits: two or three boxes a month at the Pasadena counter, two at a time in South Pasadena, a slot at the back of the Bruggemeyer building in Monterey Park that never closes, a table behind the Sierra Madre library. Of the four commercial shops, only The Battery advertises a counter that pays, its Facebook page offering to take books, music and movies off sellers, while Century Books, Fables & Fancies and Underdog publish no terms for sellers at all, which makes a phone call cheaper than a wasted drive. Membership pays for itself locally: Arcadia knocks 10 percent off at the register for Friends members, and South Pasadena lets its $20 members into the holiday sale an hour ahead of everyone else.

Three developments make an older list of this valley unreliable. The first is the Eaton fire in January 2025, which turned bookshops into aid depots — the Pasadena Star-News described on February 10, 2025 how Underdog in Monrovia stacked donated food, clothing and hygiene supplies where its tables usually stand — and which is still moving the map: Altadena shut its Main Library in 2026 for work Altadena Now reported would run 14 to 18 months, and the Friends there say they are not accepting any used-book donations. The second is happier. Sierra Madre reopened its library on June 6, 2026 after a rebuild of more than two years, with a proper Friends store in place of the old basement room, and Monterey Park brought its Foundation shop back on July 11, 2026. The third is a hole in the map: downtown Glendale lost Brand Bookshop in 2014 and then Bookfellows, which the Los Angeles Times called downtown's last remaining used bookstore in a piece of June 10, 2016.

Spot map

The best spots

Used bookstores

The Battery Books & Music

26 S Los Robles Ave, Pasadena, CA 91101

A storefront on South Los Robles Avenue a few doors south of Colorado Boulevard, an easy walk from downtown, filed by the San Gabriel Valley Tribune on its May 20, 2026 map of 100 Southern California independent bookstores under used, historic and vintage books and music. The shop, which credits Richard West as its founder, unlocks at two in the afternoon every day except Wednesday and trades until nine on Friday and Saturday, so this is an evening stop rather than a morning one. Its Facebook page offers to buy, sell and trade books, music and movies, and it is the single door here that will look at a box you carry in. Stock is listed online by shelf as well — economics, horror, Catholic theology, rock and classical discs, and a first-edition section of its own.

Hours : Sun–Tue 2pm–8pm, Thu 2pm–8pm, Fri–Sat 2pm–9pm; closed WedWebsite

Used bookstores

Century Books

1031 E Green St, Pasadena, CA 91106

Green Street Village, east of Lake Avenue, where the same Tribune round-up of May 20, 2026 describes a snug room with curated sets for people building a home library. Its online store's About page dates the business to 2012 and explains that the present number is a re-opening a few doors along from the original shop; a second site sells the same stock online next to listings on Etsy and Biblio, and warns that the Amazon sellers trading under similar names have nothing to do with the store. Neither site publishes hours, and Yelp shows afternoons only from Tuesday to Friday with the weekend dark, so call 626-344-6411 before you set off.

Website

Friends of the Library bookstore

The Friends Bookstore, Jefferson Branch

1500 E Villa St, Pasadena, CA 91106

Founded in 1975, the Pasadena Public Library's Friends keep their shop just east of the Jefferson Branch on East Villa Street between Hill and Allen, 1.5 miles east-northeast of downtown. Pasadena Now reported on August 12, 2026 that the group was putting a sale on the store patio that Saturday, August 22, with used books, DVDs, CDs, LPs and a deep children's section, a paper grocery bag filled for $5 outside and another filled indoors, premium titles at half price and payment by card or mobile wallet accepted. Donations come to the counter during store hours or into the collection box beside the big tree at any hour, with a ceiling of two or three boxes each month, and the volunteers turn down magazines, encyclopedias, workbooks and any law, medical, travel or self-help title printed before 2020.

Hours : Mon–Thu 11am–4pm, Sat 11am–4pm; closed Fri and SunWebsite

Nonprofit bookstore

Underdog Bookstore

312 S Myrtle Ave, Monrovia, CA 91016

Straight across South Myrtle Avenue from the Monrovia library, a nonprofit the Tribune's 2026 bookstore map lists as new and used, built around underrepresented voices, small presses and local authors. The About page follows the store from a seasonal pop-up at the town street fair to a storefront opposite Library Park in 2023, and records that founders Nathan and Thomas stepped back when the business became a nonprofit. The Pasadena Star-News set out on February 10, 2025 how the store turned itself into a distribution point for food, clothing and hygiene supplies after the Eaton fire, handing bags to volunteers instead of ringing up sales. Its own calendar ran full through September 2026 with crochet classes, book clubs and author signings, so check it before planning a browse.

Hours : Tue–Thu 1pm–6pm, Fri–Sat 10am–8pm, Sun 11am–7pm; closed MonWebsite

Used bookstores

Fables & Fancies

50 W Sierra Madre Blvd, Sierra Madre, CA 91024

Half a mile east of that library, in downtown Sierra Madre, the shop the Tribune map of May 20, 2026 sums up as new and used books plus a huge indoor tree. Owner Ana Buckley told the Press-Telegram, in a piece published February 21, 2025, that she had filled shelves with donated books free to anyone hit by the January fires and run storytimes twice a day while the schools were shut, all of it months after opening the previous fall. It works the longest week of anywhere on this page, ten to six for six days and ten to five on Sunday, and its September 2026 calendar carried storytimes, a non-fiction book club and miniature-painting afternoons.

Hours : Mon–Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 10am–5pmWebsite

All spots by type

Library book sales

Friends of the Library bookstore

Friends of the South Pasadena Public Library Bookstore

1100 Oxley St, South Pasadena, CA 91030

South Pasadena, 2.5 miles from downtown, keeps its Friends store one flight up inside the town library, run entirely by volunteers who call it the largest source of money the group has. The South Pasadena Public Library announced on November 14, 2025 that the annual holiday sale would take over the Community Room at 1115 El Centro Street from December 5 to 7, offering new and gently used books, vintage stock and gifts, with members at the $20 level admitted an hour before the Friday opening. Donations go to the front desk during library hours or into the bins at the end of the Fairview Avenue driveway, two boxes per visit, and foreign-language books, records, magazines and encyclopedias are refused.

Hours : Tue–Fri 1pm–5pm, Sat 10am–4pm; closed Sun–MonWebsite

Friends of the Library bookstore

Doris & Jerry Selmer Bookstore

20 W Duarte Rd, Arcadia, CA 91006

In Arcadia, 6.5 miles east of Pasadena, near the front entrance of the public library, where the Friends have traded since their room opened in the remodeled building in October 1996. Their Among Friends newsletter for winter and spring 2026, dated February 13, set an auditorium sale for March 6 and 7, then cut every price in the store by half for the week of the annual meeting, Saturday April 25 through Saturday May 2, and pointed collectors at the group's eBay account for the rarer material. The city page has the shop open Monday through Saturday without publishing a grid of its own, and that newsletter puts the library itself at 10am to 9pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 6pm on Friday and Saturday, so read those as the outer edges. Friends membership takes 10 percent off whatever you carry to the register.

Website

Friends of the Library bookstore

Friends of the Monrovia Public Library Book Store

321 S Myrtle Ave, Monrovia, CA 91016

Eight miles due east in Monrovia, immediately inside the library entrance on South Myrtle Avenue, selling gently used books and DVDs — cookbooks, mysteries, bestsellers, plenty for children — and the takings return to library programs and collections. MonroviaNow told readers on May 15, 2026 that the Friends would run their spring sale the following day from 10am to 5pm; the Friends themselves put the Community Room, paperbacks at 50 cents and trade paperbacks, hardcovers, CDs and DVDs at $2 on their own Facebook page. The city placed that sale inside the Monrovia Days weekend in its update of May 13, 2026, counting donations, book sales and the store together as what pays for library programming.

Hours : Mon 3pm–5pm, Tue–Sat noon–3pm; closed SunWebsite

Friends of the Library bookstore

Friends' Bookstore, Sierra Madre Public Library

440 W Sierra Madre Blvd, Sierra Madre, CA 91024

Just under five miles east-northeast, in Sierra Madre, inside a library that reopened on June 6, 2026 at the end of a renovation ColoradoBoulevard.net reported had run more than two years. The Friends used the rebuild to swap their old basement corner for a real shop: nearly new stock and best-sellers, coffee-table volumes, children's titles, CDs and DVDs, open five days with Friday and Sunday dark. Their Best Used Book Sale filled the new Mary Tumilty Community Room over August 7 and 8, 2026 with bargain books, media and jigsaw puzzles, and the store traded through it. Gently used donations go on the table outside the shop at the rear of the building.

Hours : Mon 10am–3pm, Tue–Thu 11am–4pm, Sat 10am–3pm; closed Fri and SunWebsite

Friends of the Library bookstore

Friends Bookstore, Alhambra Civic Center Library

101 S First St, Alhambra, CA 91801

Just under four miles south-southeast, in Alhambra, upstairs at the Civic Center Library: an all-volunteer room selling books, movies and gift items for every age in English, Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese, with the scarcest items routed to the Friends' eBay front instead of the shelves. The library said in a post of August 16, 2026 that a $2-a-bag sale would open on the second floor outside the store on Tuesday, August 18, bring your own bag or buy one there. Parking is free for four hours in the structure north of the building, entered from First or Second Street.

Hours : Tue–Wed noon–7pm, Thu–Sat noon–4pm; closed Sun–MonWebsite

Friends of the Library bookstore

Book Shoppe, Crowell Public Library

1890 Huntington Dr, San Marino, CA 91108

In San Marino, two and three quarter miles southeast, where the Friends of the Crowell Public Library, going on more than 50 years old, run their main fundraiser on donated books and media, sorted and sold entirely by volunteers. Board president Jonathan Torres told the San Marino Tribune, in its May 14, 2026 edition, for a piece on the thank-you luncheon the group held that April, that without those volunteers the Book Shoppe would cease to function and that it works as a gathering place as much as a shop. One warning on the clock: the Friends publish Tuesday and Thursday as 10am to 6pm while the city's library FAQ still gives Tuesday as 10am to 4pm, and the grid below follows the operator.

Hours : Mon 10am–4pm, Tue 10am–6pm, Wed 10am–4pm, Thu 10am–6pm, Sat noon–4pm; closed Fri and SunWebsite

Library Foundation bookstore

Library Foundation Bookstore, Bruggemeyer Library

318 S Ramona Ave, Monterey Park, CA 91754

Six miles south, in Monterey Park, where the Bruggemeyer Library gives the Monterey Park Library Foundation a room of donated stock; the city announced a reopening celebration for it at eleven in the morning on Saturday, July 11, 2026. The Foundation asks for new-to-fairly-new books and commercially published CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs, refusing textbooks, workbooks, magazines, encyclopedias and home-recorded media, and keeps a donation slot at the rear entrance open around the clock. Watch the Saturday: the shop opens only from three in the afternoon that day, while weekdays start at ten or noon.

Hours : Mon–Tue noon–6pm, Wed–Thu 10am–5pm, Fri 10am–4pm, Sat 3pm–6pmWebsite

Scan before you buy

At every one of these spots, snap the shelf with BiblioScan: the AI identifies each book and shows its real resale price. Walk out with profitable books, not random boxes.

Try BiblioScan for free

Local sourcing tips

Settle the money question before you drive anywhere, because only one of the twelve advertises a counter that pays. That is The Battery, whose Facebook page says it takes books, discs and movies off customers; the other three commercial shops publish nothing on the subject, so call ahead rather than turning up hopeful. The library rooms run on gifts and ration them: three boxes in any month at the Jefferson Branch, a pair per visit down in South Pasadena, whatever fits the round-the-clock chute at the rear of the Bruggemeyer building, and a table behind the library in Sierra Madre. Read the refusal lists as you sort — Pasadena bars workbooks, magazines and anything legal, medical, travel or self-help printed before 2020, South Pasadena declines records and foreign-language books, and Monterey Park turns away textbooks and home-recorded discs.
The bargains are calendared, not permanent. The Pasadena Friends filled a paper grocery bag for $5 on the patio at their August 22, 2026 sale, with premium stock at half price indoors. Alhambra opened a $2-a-bag sale on the second floor from Tuesday, August 18, 2026. Arcadia halved every price in the store for the week running Saturday April 25 to Saturday May 2, 2026, after an auditorium sale on March 6 and 7. Monrovia priced its May 16, 2026 sale at 50 cents a paperback and $2 for hardcovers, trade paperbacks, CDs and DVDs, and Sierra Madre put bargain books, media and puzzles in its new community room across that weekend in August 2026.
Only one pair here shares a sidewalk, and it is not in Pasadena: the Monrovia library shop and Underdog face each other across South Myrtle Avenue. Downtown Sierra Madre puts the Friends room and Fables & Fancies half a mile apart along the same boulevard, which is a stroll if you feel like one. In Pasadena itself the three stops stretch across a mile and a half, Los Robles to Green Street to East Villa. Everything else means driving, though the four southern stops chain together well enough, since South Pasadena, San Marino, Alhambra and Monterey Park each sit within a few miles of the next.
Check the clock twice in this valley, because the schedules are unusually awkward. The Battery does not open until two in the afternoon and shuts on Wednesday; the Monterey Park shop opens at three on Saturday and not before; Alhambra stays shut on Sunday and Monday; the Sierra Madre and San Marino stores both close on Friday. Century Books publishes no hours at all and the Arcadia store has none of its own posted anywhere, which leaves a phone call as the dependable move for that pair. And if you search for the Pasadena Public Library, note that pasadenalibrary.org belongs to Pasadena, Texas — the California system sits under cityofpasadena.net, and the Friends run their own site at friendsppl.org.
A few names you will meet in older guides are no longer selling anything over a counter. Cliff's Books shut on East Colorado Boulevard in 2013, a closure the Los Angeles Times covered on October 6 that year; Brand Bookshop in Glendale closed in 2014 after 29 years when owner Jerome Joseph retired, per the same paper on June 28; Bookfellows, also known as Mystery & Imagination, gave up its Brand Boulevard store in 2016 and carried on online. Two chains are worth ruling out before you plan around them: Half Price Books lists four California stores on its own state page — Concord, Dublin and Fremont in the Bay Area, with Citrus Heights near Sacramento — none of them in the south of the state, and Goodwill Southern California reserves its Book Store & Boutique label for Culver City, Norco, Redlands and Upland, so the Pasadena and Arcadia sites are ordinary boutiques. Altadena is out of action too, with the Main Library closed for a renovation Altadena Now put at 14 to 18 months in its report of February 18, 2026, and the Friends group there says it will accept no used-book donations for now. As for the two famous markets, the Rose Bowl Flea Market on the second Sunday and the Pasadena City College Flea Market on the first, both organizers advertise antiques, collectibles and vintage goods rather than books, so treat any find there as luck.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I find cheap used books in Pasadena?

Start with the volunteer shops, which price in coins rather than dollars. The Pasadena Friends sell out of their Villa Street room five days a week and, at their sale of August 22, 2026, let shoppers fill a paper grocery bag on the patio for $5 and another one inside. South Pasadena, San Marino, Alhambra, Arcadia, Monrovia, Sierra Madre and Monterey Park each run the same idea in their own libraries, and their sale weeks are where the floor drops: half price across the Arcadia store from April 25 to May 2, 2026, $2 a bag in Alhambra from August 18, 2026, 50 cents a paperback at the Monrovia sale of May 16, 2026. For a shop rather than a library room, The Battery runs latest, to nine in the evening on Friday and Saturday.

Where do I sell used books in Pasadena?

Honestly, there is one counter and a great many donation bins. The Battery, on Los Robles just south of Colorado, states on Facebook that used books, music and movies are all bought, sold and traded there, and no other shop here advertises paying for stock; Underdog, Fables & Fancies and Century Books say nothing publicly about buying, so phone first. The library rooms accept gifts rather than purchases, under caps they publish — three boxes in a month at the Pasadena store, a pair of boxes each visit in South Pasadena — and the Altadena Friends state that no used-book donations are being taken at present. BiblioScan exists for precisely this decision: photograph the shelf, let the app read the spines, and back comes the secondhand value of every title it can name. Whatever carries real value goes into a marketplace listing you post yourself; the remainder fills the two boxes a month the Friends will accept.

When is the Friends of the Library sale in Pasadena?

The Friends of the Pasadena Public Library hold theirs on the patio of their own store at 1500 East Villa Street, a short way past the Jefferson Branch, on a Saturday from 11am to 2pm. Pasadena Now covered the one held on August 22, 2026 and, before that, the May 2, 2026 edition, where the same $5 bag deal applied. Between those dates the store itself is open Monday to Thursday and Saturday from 11am to 4pm, which makes it the reliable version of the same stock. If you are willing to drive, the valley's other groups run their own: Arcadia in the Cay Mortenson Auditorium, Sierra Madre in the Mary Tumilty Community Room, South Pasadena in its Community Room in December, Monrovia during the Monrovia Days weekend in May.

Which day is best for book hunting in Pasadena?

Saturday, provided you build the route around two closures. Alhambra shuts on Sunday and Monday but trades Saturday afternoon; the Monterey Park shop only opens at three that day; the two rooms out in Sierra Madre and San Marino open Saturday and shut on Friday, which is the day to avoid outright. Thursday is the strongest weekday, with every library shop on this page open and The Battery running from two until eight. Sunday leaves The Battery, Fables & Fancies and Underdog, since every library store is closed and Yelp shows Century Books shut at weekends, and Wednesday costs you The Battery.

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