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Ask HN: Useful ways to get rid of old programming books

5 points by stevejalim ↗ HN
I've been sorting out my office and have a heap of outmoded programming books (eg for Rails 1.2, XML, Flex, etc) that I really don't want hanging around wasting space.

They've been listed on Amazon Marketplace for 12+ months. Current books sold in hours, these have not had a bite.

I could give them to a charity shop, but part of me feels like that's just giving the shop crappy stuff which either won't sell or which someone might buy, but unwittingly be buying something no longer fit for purpose.

So - aside from the recycling bin, is there anywhere else useful these books could go?

11 comments

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anon6567
Give them to someone's kid who's into computers. I'm sure they can get some use out of it.
[deleted]
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stevejalim
I suppose a similar hang-up applies as with charity shops: do I really want to encourage a kid to learn old stuff?
aleprok
Not in case of those books you listed, but if you have some books about basics of technology which does not age that fast.

Seriously some old security books for example are good reading.

gadders
When I worked at Lotus, we got a request from a prison for old books, manuals for inmates. So you could try that. Unless they're on penetration testing or something ;-)
jsilence
What an awful extra punishment! Truly evil.
japhyr
When my father passed away last year, I went through his library of technical books. I recycled 900 pounds of books.

Most people who saw this happening wanted to give the books to the library, to a church, or hold a yard sale. But my mother understood, when I explained that my dad wouldn't really want some unknowing kid to learn something he'd just have to unlearn. Nobody needs to know the ins and outs of Windows 95 application programming.

I really think that donating outdated books to libraries and such is just a way of passing on the guilt of recycling large volumes to the people who work at the library. Be bold, do it yourself.

Edit: Of course, do something meaningful with the current and timeless books. I came home with a copy of K&R's The C Programming Language and a few others, and I left the full set of The Art of Computer Programming in my dad's library. I explained to my mom how that set represented my father's entire library.

brudgers
If the local friends of the library gets $1 for an outdated book, that's a good thing.

Yes, nobody needs to know the Windows 95 registry structure, and few even want to know it in detail, but at $1, some people will buy a technical book just for an hour of mental stimulation and the positive feeling from supporting a community institution.

Reuse is better than recycling.

LarryMade
Donate to your local library would be my suggestion.
jsilence
Don't buy computer books on paper in the first place. Opt for ebooks.