Recycled Reads Revamped

Here's what will happen when the Austin library's used bookstore closes

The Recycled Reads Bookstore will close, but the program will continue with some changes.

Austin Public Library will always have books that need to be retired, but due to city budget cuts, it is closing its dedicated used bookstore. Here's how Austinites can continue donating and buying used books when doors to the Recycled Reads Bookstore (5335 Burnet Rd.) close on January 17.

The Recycled Reads program started in 2009 to reduce materials sent from APL to the landfill. Sellable items (i.e. those in good-enough condition) were gathered from various libraries to one central store in a rented, privately owned space. Books that weren't sold were sent to Goodwill Central Texas, which stripped the bindings and recycled what it could. Besides books, the store also sold CDs, DVDs, art, board games, puzzles, and more.

The language the city is using to talk about the closure and its aftermath frame it as a "transition to its new citywide model for used materials sales." In other words, instead of selling books in one central location, APL will sell them at the libraries themselves. This could be convenient for some book-lovers who prefer to visit their local library, but will result in a more hit-or-miss browsing process.

The transition also includes a new recycling partner, Better World Books, an online bookseller that deals mostly in used books and donates books and funds to literacy programs around the world.

A newsletter from the city alerts shoppers and donors to the following new conditions:

Accepting fewer materials: Starting today, November 17, APL will only accept four types of donations: Blu-rays, DVDs, and CDs.
Final drop-off day: Donors can stop by the current Recyled Reads Bookstore for the last day on December 31.This is also the last day people can check out or borrow items from the Tool Library collection.
Maximum donation volumes: All APL locations will only accept two grocery bags or standard boxes (like one that copy paper is sold in) at a time.
Passport Services is moving: The city operates four Passport Services Offices. The one that was located at Recycled Reads has already transitioned to the Yarborough Branch Library.

The new system will be in effect as of February, 2026.

According to the city, Recycled Reads was losing more than $400,000 per year for the past two fiscal years. The newsletter does not say whether the city considered moving to a space with lower rent; however, it implies it did not. The City of Austin Strategic Facilities Plan says city departments should “reduce the reliance on leased space,” and as a result, the departments have been moving into city-owned spaces when they can.

books shopping library sustainability

income analysis

This is the family income needed for one parent to stay home in Texas

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

With costs to raise a child soaring over $20,000 a year in Texas, some households might decide to have one parent work while the other stays at home to raise their child.

The cost of raising a child has ballooned in major cities like Austin, forcing many families to weight the choice between paying for child care or having one parent stay home full-time.

A recent analysis from SmartAsset determined the minimum income one parent needs to earn to support their partner staying at home to raise one child in all 50 states. In Texas — not just Austin — that amount is just under $75,000.

The study used the MIT Living Wage Calculator to compare the annual living wages needed for a household with two working adults and one child, and a household with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child. The study also calculated how much it would cost to raise a child with two working parents based on factors such as "food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, incremental income taxes and other necessities."

A Texas household with one working parent would need to earn $74,734 a year to support a stay-at-home partner and a child, the report found. If two parents worked in the household, necessitating some additional costs like childcare and transportation, it would require an additional $10,504 in annual income to raise their child.

SmartAsset said the cost to raise a child in Texas in a two-working-parent household adds up to $23,587. Raising a child in Central Texas, however, is slightly more expensive. A separate SmartAsset study from June 2025 determined it costs $24,118 to raise a child in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro.

In the report's ranking of states with the highest minimum income needed to support a family with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child, Texas ranked 32nd on the list.

In other states like Massachusetts, where raising a child can cost more than $40,000 a year, the report acknowledges ways families are working to reduce any financial burdens.

"This often includes considerations around who’s going to work in the household, and whether young children will require paid daycare services while parents are occupied," the report said. "With tradeoffs abound, many parents might seek to understand the minimum income needed to keep the family afloat while allowing the other parent to stay home to raise a young child."

The top 10 states with the lowest minimum income threshold to support a three-person family on one income are:

West Virginia – $68,099
Arkansas – $68,141
Mississippi – $70,242
Kentucky – $70,408
North Dakota – $70,949
Oklahoma – $71,718
Ohio – $72,114
South Dakota – $72,218
Alabama – $72,238
Nebraska – $72,966

texas income smartasset family

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income analysis

This is the family income needed for one parent to stay home in Texas