Getting rid of books

For various reasons, I have to prune my library of a fair number of books. This is not a pleasant task. I care very much about my books. I paid good money for most of them, and others of them were gifts that have meaning for me. But some of them must go.

I am at a loss to figure out how to dispose of the books. Selling them via Ebay or Alibris means constant travel to and from the post office, paying out more in shipping than I receive, and, frankly, wrapping the books, which I am terrible at doing. As a rule, libraries do not accept books given to them; it costs an average of $40 to catalog and process one donated book, and if I could send my books with such dowries to their bibliographical nunnery, I could probably afford a bigger apartment and more bookcases. And simply dumping them in a box to be sold en banc, or given away to the voracious horde of graduate students... to have books I value treated as having a nominal value or no value -- breaks my heart.

I think that covers all the options, but there must be some better way. Suggestions gratefully accepted.