What to do with obsolete tech books

I have some really old tech books that I’d like to get rid of. What do you think is the best way to get rid of them? Library, used book store, goodwill or just throw them away. Any suggestions?

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Conversation 7 comments

  • TheITGuy

    09 April, 2017 - 10:15 am

    <p>I donated mine to the local library.</p>

  • TechnologyTemperance

    10 April, 2017 - 11:32 am

    <p>A lot of nonprofits get paid for paper (recycling) by the pound. I break the binding and throw them in their collection dumpsters.</p>

    • skane2600

      10 April, 2017 - 1:30 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#97044">In reply to TechnologyTemperance:</a></em></blockquote><p>Interesting. Definitely an option I wasn't aware of.</p>

  • jimchamplin

    Premium Member
    10 April, 2017 - 4:43 pm

    <p>Use them to trick your friends.</p>

  • WaltC

    27 April, 2017 - 10:48 am

    <p>Dumpsters are well known for their myriad uses…;) Obsolete tech info is, well, obsolete and of little good to anyone–even an historian. However, you might seek out a few web sties that specialize in the subjects your obsolete manuals illustrate and discretely query them–from which it is possible you may find some poor soul willing to buy them from you. One man's trash is…etc.</p>

    • skane2600

      27 April, 2017 - 12:18 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#100368"><em>In reply to WaltC:</em></a></blockquote><p>I used to use an old heavy MFC book to hold down the terminals on my van's battery so I could start it (Why is a long story). So you never know how useful those old books might be.</p>

    • jimchamplin

      Premium Member
      27 April, 2017 - 1:00 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#100368"><em>In reply to WaltC:</em></a></blockquote><p>Why is it of little good to a historian? Personally, I think too <em>little</em> attention is given to tech's history. Retrocomputing and computing history is treated as a nerdy pursuit, and not a serious one. That's a problem. Too many people say, "Who cares? That old stuff is <em>obsolete</em>," but forget that it's still important.</p><p>If you've never seen a PDP-8 bootstrap UNIX from a tape reel and give you a login prompt on a teletype, you haven't lived.</p>

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