Old guide books: throw away or keep?
 

What do you do with your old guide books? I'm having a much-needed clearout of junk, including the vast pile of travel guides in the hall.

They're out-of-date and useless for reference. I also have several guides to some places - I've got every published edition of the Time Out guide to Paris, for instance so the're duplication. And since the information is no longer reliable, they're no use to anyone else (a thrift store wouldn't want them) and I should really just take them up to the recycling point.

On the other hand I would hate to throw them out because I was brought up to cherish books of all kinds. Besides, some of them now have historical interest (I have a New York guide with a big picture of the Twin Towers on the cover) and in a sense they chronicle my travels over the last decade or so.

Do I hoarde them or just fling them out? Grateful for your advice.

I take mine to the Oxfam book shop. They've never turned down any old ones - at least, they've never said that to me. I take the view that doing that is at least one step more constructive than throwing them out myself, even if that is all the the shop does once I leave. :)

Ebay? That is where buy my travel guides and I specifically look for the cheap, used versions. I don't use travel guides for hotel information but rather for sight seeing.

Thank you ^

Well my nearest charity store has politely declined my old Rough Guides but I might try Oxfam instead. I'd never really considered Ebay because of the life of me I couldn't imagine anyone beng interested in information that was 10 years old. But I suppose streetmaps are still useful, so I'll give it a try. It will at least salve my conscience when I eventually hurl them in a big skip...

odd but true
 

old guidebooks and street maps can be very useful for writers, people doing research on properties and family histories. I, too, hate to throw them out. I would try Ebay or HalfPrice books or some such. One of my favorite guide books is an old one for Kyoto that is all drawings, maps and cartoons. It worked for me in Kyoto even through it was well out of date.

When you list the guides on Ebay, generally the listing is done by UPC code so the buyer will know the publication date.

While some pricing information in old guides may be dated, how much do sights like the Sphinx or Stonehenge change over 10 years?

I keep all the guidebooks I've bought and used as souvenirs from the trips. By the time I'm through with them they're usually well thumbed through, wrinkled, written in, etc. I can always get rid of something much more bulky before I worry about the smaller guides.

Many of the old guides are still relatively current even though they're 10 years old or so especially guides like Eyewitness. I have taken them with me on trips and left them in the hotel room when we checked out if I'm planning on buying a new version. This works if you continue to go back to the same places.

Bobi

True, although it's not just pricing that changes...I've just been browsing through an old guide book to Edinburgh and every other piece of information in it is incorrect except for the "context" and "history" sections. And what is left out is just as important...any building or attraction less then a decade old is missing, which reduces the worth of a guide. I agree that good illustrations are timeless, though.
A couple of guide books I've used on longer trips have turned into a scrapbook, stuffed full of old tickets, postcards and the like...wonderful memories. Those are staying. But even though I'm an instinctive hoarder, even I can see that having 11 different guides to Paris is excessive :D

I save the Michilen Red Guides every time I go to France. The long line of red on the bookshelf reminds me of many good times. And, I have heard, the Red guides are actually valuable should one wish to sell them. :cool:

As for other guide books, I just toss 'em after a couple of years. They are ephemeria. Good for the moment and then useless (with a few exceptions). I wouldn't try to donate them because they really have no value to travelers once they are out of date.

Give them away or donate them.

I too keep all of my guide books..Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, Moon Handbooks, Let's Go etc. In fact I have a dedicated bookcase just for these memories. I even have a few phone books from various countries :cool: . I do give away extra copies to other travelers. They are part of my travel history. It is the photographs that have me stumped... :confused:

I've held onto my Lets Go UK from 1992 (first trip across the Atlantic), but other guides get tossed as soon as I buy newer editions to replace them. I gave away two previous editions of Lonely Planet Australia.

A Scotsman not wanting to throw something out??? Watch out for Stereotypes.

Actually donate the guides to a School. Many Teachers find the information in old Travel guides to be very helpful in Geography Studies. (This is speaking from experience. I was a teacher and now am a map store owner who donates a lot of guides to beginning teachers.)

It depends on the guide. We like DK Eyewitness guides, which are loaded with photographs and maps. They make good souvenirs, so we like to keep them.