Depending on how “old” a computer book is, it might be of use to some museum. Many of the old computers are still out there and I believe they will be collected and of course will need manuals for both hardware and software.

wwww.bookcrossing.com

Depending on how thick the books are, you could stack two or more together and… upholster them!! When we were little children, my grandmother made us little sitting stools by anchoring four large, empty juice cans together and covering them with padding and fabric. She even sewed a flat handle across the top so they could be picked up and moved easily and still not interfere with the seating. Your books, of course, would be heavier than the cans, but it seems that they might still work well that way. Just one idea.

try and post them on amazon 1st. there are a lot of people who collect those, and some people might still find them useful, while somethings change, usually the basics stay the same

Alter them! Paint, draw, doodle, glue “bits n pieces” in them… Crafty people might love one!

i was thinking the same thing! even the odd page or two from a book would make a nifty envelope or homemade card for a nerdy friend. :P

You could hollow them out to create secret book hiding places. And really, the more obsolete the book, the safer your stashed treasures.

There are a few sets of instructions for making hollowed books at Onstructables: http://www.instructables.com/id/EOPFWWA9OLET2JYSTK/

Give them to any artists you know for making homemade sketchbooks– just gesso over each page (opaquely or thinly– some people might like the words peeping through the art)and it’s clean to draw on.

Tear out the pages and use it to paper a wall or notice board in an office/geek space. Or one wall of the toilet to amuse ’sitters’
Cover an old ugly piece of furniture with the pages and then laquer in a clear sealant to ‘pimp’ up an otherwise boring, dated or plain ugly table or chest of drawers. I have seen this done with chinese newspapers and the football pink or the yellow Loot (free ads paper)Looks pretty cool and when you get fed up just stick on some new ones.

www.paperbackswap.com

If you make an account, credit me please… musicallyminded@mail2musician.com

Shoot Anonoymous stole my idea - bookcrossing.com is great for getting rid of books you don’t want - give them a happier life, with someone possibily more interested in them.

Personally I ADORED these ideas !!!!
Check this website for shelves made out from old books….it’s awesome !!!
http://www.thisintothat.com/gallery/funniest.html#

I love to decopage things, and the first thing that came to mind was to take out the pages and cover things! You could make wordy-looking (or nerdy-looking, if they’re tech books) treasure boxes, pencil holders, drawer organizers, Christmas ornaments… the possibilities are endless!

This guy makes a lamp shade out of an old book.

Cut a square out of the middle of the spine and mount a light fitting in there. Drill holes in the opposite sides, top and bottom. Thread string through the holes.

Mount the book fully open with it’s cover to the wall, spreading the pages evenly (the string holds them in place). Turn on light and see nice slotted light effect! Only use a low power bulb though to avoid fires!

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/960255/recycle_lamp_shade/

use some of the ideas and pictures in the book and your picture using the computer it was used for as a scrapbook page.

A place like paperbackswap.com or bookcrossing.com would be a great option. Old training manuals may be useless, but there’s a collector out there for everything. Post ads on somewhere like craigslist to see if there are any takers. If they are truely obsolete and useless, they’ll find a happy home mixed with your newspapers on recycling day.