I was always interested in learning. I have books on fonts, flash, dreamweaver, quark, printing, layout, color theory, photoshop, illustrator, as well as photography and illustration directories, etc, etc,. I realize the dated material is probably worthless but some of the theory and reference books might be worth something. I can donate them to a trade school or library or cart them to Half Price for $1.25 cent profit or dump them in a recycle bin. Thoughts?

Id say they are all recycle -- unless the books on fonts/layout/color theory/etc are more broad -- rather than specifc examples.

Negative space, gestalt theory, basic layout guidelines, etc -- maybe worth something, still concepts.

Almost all of these concepts are online, sure, but not presented in an organized book form... so maybe some value in that.

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

Our local library accepts book donations. We just unloaded several boxes of old books.

Thanks, kind of what my wife and I thought. It is an end of an era as just retired and need to make room. I love books but don’t need the clutter of early Mac advice books and art and software guides. My wife knows I use the MRF as a Magic Eight Ball to try to avoid mistakes and get maximum feedback. A lot of these were my stepping stones to a new career years ago but when you gotta go, you gotta go as they serve no useful reference (other than Maybe the layout and art).

I have a pile of more recently acquired books in the corner waiting for shelf space so not like I am clearing the house but looking forward to interesting reads on rock and roll, biographies, space and flight, animation, humor, history and many more that I will probably never get to or forget that I ever read in the time left.

I’ve had a hard time parting with old manuals and guides, but have managed to clear away some of it. It’s certainly time for another purge, though. I have rehomed a lot of fiction and non-technical books through the Little Free Library, which is a group of collection boxes placed around NYC, where folks recycle their books. The location in Stuyvesant Town just added a second little “library” box, so apparently it’s pretty popular.

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My life goes smoothly and in regular intervals

I've also got a big purge in my future. I'd like to replace my carpet—and that will mean moving roughly 4000 books and their associated bookcases.

I was surprised how much trouble I had getting rid of design annuals from the 80s and 90s. Even though there's a university near me with a big graphic design program, whose library lacked the very volumes I wanted to contribute, they pointed out that today's students don't consult paper volumes. If it's not online, it simply doesn't exist to them.

I've got several boxes of Communication Arts in a storage locker downstairs. Luckily, a young design and typography nerd I know is interested in taking those, once I get them out into the daylight (and figure out how to move them to Denver).

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Mr Downtown
I've also got a big purge in my future. I'd like to replace my carpet—and that will mean moving roughly 4000 books and their associated bookcases.

I was surprised how much trouble I had getting rid of design annuals from the 80s and 90s. Even though there's a university near me with a big graphic design program, whose library lacked the very volumes I wanted to contribute, they pointed out that today's students don't consult paper volumes. If it's not online, it simply doesn't exist to them.

I've got several boxes of Communication Arts in a storage locker downstairs. Luckily, a young design and typography nerd I know is interested in taking those, once I get them out into the daylight (and figure out how to move them to Denver).

If you've been in a University Library these days, there are coffee shops and study stations. And a lot less books. Things have been digitized, including microfiche. Universities aren't spending money to renovate libraries as their future is unknown at this point.

I took the first box to Half Price and received almost $8.00 cash. I looked around but did not buy anything on this trip.
So guess I will try another box and save up for some Christmas gifts. They did have some $8.00 tee shirts that interested me, such as “Make America Read Again” (White text on Red).

It is true that libraries of all sorts have an uncertain future. They offer such a great value but this plague thing is causing a serious dent in their operation, especially if it turns out these illnesses easily recycle themselves. My wife was a librarian and handled donations with the bulk going in to Salvation Army, Goodwill or the recycle bin. With limitations for shelf display some items were resold In the library shop to raise Operating funds.

I realize I am so old school now and that an affliction to collect music, video, literature and art in it’s physical forms can be unhealthy, especially to my kids who would have to clean out the chafe or more likely keep just a few items or dump/auction the rest. I get feeds of the online auctions but for materials that are worth low dollars ($1 to $20) street value it does not seem worth it to resell unless that itself becomes a hobby.

I hope I have the strength to keep flipping and dissolving items so they don’t have such a terrible chore in the future. I am finding items that I have forgotten about that bring joy. But also feels good to disperse to others that might also enjoy it. Baby steps.

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Mr Downtown
I was surprised how much trouble I had getting rid of design annuals from the 80s and 90s. Even though there's a university near me with a big graphic design program, whose library lacked the very volumes I wanted to contribute, they pointed out that today's students don't consult paper volumes.

Students sometimes scoff at books... but a graphic design TEACHER could use them. They can copy a page here and there as a handout, or skim a chapter before their Fibonacci vs. Milt Glaser lecture.

One time I left a box of design books in the graphic design hallway at my college, and starving art students were like "Dude, it's free! I'm taking it home!"