Keeping text books from school?

[Nicole915]

Seeking advice about keeping old text books.

I'm a vet, and have about 40 huge thick texts from undergrad and vet school sitting on two shelves in my guest room. Most of the information in them is timeless, but I find that I use them maybe once a month. I have everything from organic chemistry to surgical techniques for large animals... and I just don't know what to throw away and what to keep.

Most practices have their own library, so when I go back to work if I need information I know it will be available. My books have notes and highlighting that I find useful, I like having a good idea about where to start to look for information. To complicate the issue, the books are more valuable than I had thought, and would sell for around $75 each.

I want the space, I hate the packed look, but I use and love the books. Ideas?

[ASusan]

You use them once a month. That's a lot of use (IMO) for a book in the house. MOST practices have their own library, but you may end up somewhere that doesn't. They are $75 a pop to replace.

I'd cull the least-used, easiest to replace. (Basic chem books must be cheap, but the more specialized surgery ones can't be, I would think.) Cut back the library by maybe a third?

ETA - I have to keep a lot of books for my work, too. I now organize them primarily by subject first, then COLOR of the spine, which makes the shelf more pleasing to look at. I used to do by size, but I find I like color better. I don't have SO many books that I need them to be in specific author or title order. One shelf per topic is about what I have. I have become much better about culling in recent years. I used to keep some primarily because the woman who gave them to me died (they were all books in my field). And many I kept because they were "classics." I've given myself permission to get rid of both, and I try to kep the most up-to-date and the ones I've actually used the most.

[IsaFrench]

what about finding a box about the height of the shelf, covering it with fabric or adhesive plastic in a design that in "not busy" so that it looks "unified" and non attention seeking when you enter the room ?

that's only addressing the look ... but it's one option you could consider.

[laurabfig]

When you go back to work, could you just store them at the office? I'm an occupational therapist and have lots of textbooks that I keep at my workplace office rather than my home office, just so they aren't cluttering up my house. Although I did get rid of some textbooks that aren't useful to me in my everyday practice...like chemistry and physics.

[OkiMom]

Id keep the ones I use monthly and get rid of the ones I don't. If the information won't change and you might need them why have to replace them later. But I love my own books with my own writing and high lightening in them. I rather have a book I make my notes in and cross reference to other books than ones that are owned by others. Its priceless to me to not have to spend the extra time searching when my highlighting and notes tell me where to look. On the few books that I kept from college it takes me about 5 minutes max to look up an answer but if you gave me an unhighlighted book it would probably take me close to 15-20 minutes.