Foo - Old high school textbooks??

Schools and classes change over years. Textbooks get replaced with newer ones, different structures ones, etc.....

What happens to old high school textbooks? Info is still good stuff. Where are the old history and geometry books from 20 years ago when I was in high school?

Are they used somewhere, able to be picked up dirt cheap? Many would be great books to have on the shelf to reference from time to time.

Anybody have a clue where they go? I googled, but its hard to track down "old" ones versus current ones being sold used.

I used mine for target practice after graduation.

I used mine for target practice after graduation.

Foo is always a bastion of stupendous....er, stupidous information! :innocent:

I found that it is pointless to sell back college textbooks, so I've kept virtually all of mine. I also have a few high school texts as well. Some are good references (I used my HS chem text as a brush-up to get ready for college), others such as the guide to theater tech tend to be interesting reading for garb ideas for Renfaires, but other than that, tend to just occupy space on the shelf.

Your old textbooks probably still have the earth at the center of the universe.

Your old textbooks probably still have the earth at the center of the universe.

Mine had some garden, Eden I think it was, as the center of everything. And meat would turn to flies if you left it in a jar near other trash.

Check with HS teachers. My physics teacher gave out old copies of a book that hadn't been used in a while. They were going to be thrown out anyway, so I grabbed one. I also have nearly all of my college books.

Some of the older books can be more concise and compact, less wasted space in the margins. You should see my dad's college algebra book...

Check with HS teachers. My physics teacher gave out old copies of a book that hadn't been used in a while. They were going to be thrown out anyway, so I grabbed one. I also have nearly all of my college books.

Some of the older books can be more concise and compact, less wasted space in the margins. You should see my dad's college algebra book...

pics please!

Schools and classes change over years. Textbooks get replaced with newer ones, different structures ones, etc.....

What happens to old high school textbooks? Info is still good stuff. Where are the old history and geometry books from 20 years ago when I was in high school?

Are they used somewhere, able to be picked up dirt cheap? Many would be great books to have on the shelf to reference from time to time.

Anybody have a clue where they go? I googled, but its hard to track down "old" ones versus current ones being sold used.

I have an algebra HS textbook from the 80s or so. Damn, was that a hard read.

Thank god for academics actually striving to make textbooks less dry! The only ones that deserve to be a package of suffering are the uber-specialized ones that Ph.Ds use to get their publishing creds out!

I found that it is pointless to sell back college textbooks, so I've kept virtually all of mine. I also have a few high school texts as well. Some are good references (I used my HS chem text as a brush-up to get ready for college), others such as the guide to theater tech tend to be interesting reading for garb ideas for Renfaires, but other than that, tend to just occupy space on the shelf.

If you're smart about it, you can get half back. Sometimes more.

Its a matter of shopping around, knowing when to sell back and not being lazy.

Having said that, College textbooks are a complete sham...I absolutely despise spending money on them.

To the OP: I'm thinking they just get thrown away or recycled.

Old texts probably get stored at the district office until they're recycled or tossed, is my guess.

My parents picked up tons of reference books at library sales and the thrift stores, Salvation Army, in particular. If you're in a non-university town, used bookstores are a good bet too.

Thank god for academics actually striving to make textbooks less dry! The only ones that deserve to be a package of suffering are the uber-specialized ones that Ph.Ds use to get their publishing creds out!Funny....I went to high school in the 80s and don't remember the books being thaaat dry. Maybe a little, but not bad.

I have an old calculus text book from the 50s or 60s that I picked up at a garage sale....now THAT was dry. Virtually no graphs to explain concepts, all black and white, all proof type stuff, lemmas and theorems up the ying yang.

pics please!
Pic 1, algebra and physics (http://i555.photobucket.com/albums/jj443/black_boxwbs/book2.jpg)
Pic 2, algebra content (http://i555.photobucket.com/albums/jj443/black_boxwbs/book1.jpg)
Then the camera battery died.

Algebra book: copyright 1947, 1958, with 10th printing in 1964. Stamped inside by the Univ. of Illinois at Chicago bookstore, new $8.95, used $6.70. It is just inside of 6.25" x 9.25" x 1.25" which seems small to me compared to other educational books? I guess algebra isn't too complicated.

Physics book: copyright 1982 (older than I originally thought). Its not calculus-based, but it covers mechanics, thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, optics, and also some quantum theory and atomic structure, bonding, and particle stuff.

I used mine for target practice after graduation.

You waited until after you graduated?
City folk.

Text books are virtually worthless, charity centers I've brought stuff to don't even want them. They post it at the front counter on signs and ask when I submit boxes filled with books saying, please don't bring them.
School books are a racket, a way for many to profit and are priced well above what they're worth.
College books hold half value for a year or so. I've had college professors reject my using old books stating that they're out-dated. There's pleny written pertaining to all this.

I used mine for target practice after graduation.

The most meaningfull use for 'em

Mine had some garden, Eden I think it was, as the center of everything. And meat would turn to flies if you left it in a jar near other trash.

My scrolls noted that stars were holes in the great celestial blanket of the gods.

Pic 1, algebra and physics (http://i555.photobucket.com/albums/jj443/black_boxwbs/book2.jpg)
Pic 2, algebra content (http://i555.photobucket.com/albums/jj443/black_boxwbs/book1.jpg)
Then the camera battery died.

Algebra book: copyright 1947, 1958, with 10th printing in 1964. Stamped inside by the Univ. of Illinois at Chicago bookstore, new $8.95, used $6.70. It is just inside of 6.25" x 9.25" x 1.25" which seems small to me compared to other educational books? I guess algebra isn't too complicated.

Physics book: copyright 1982 (older than I originally thought). Its not calculus-based, but it covers mechanics, thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, optics, and also some quantum theory and atomic structure, bonding, and particle stuff.

algebra is where ALL the complication lies.... i can't believe that book is so thin. they probably don't waste your time on things that can be done half assedly in algebra and full assedly in calculus though...

I saved my o-chem textbooks so I can use them as doorstops or to strike anyone who tries to break in and rob my house.

I saved my o-chem textbooks so I can use them as doorstops or to strike anyone who tries to break in and rob my house.

another very good use for them. If I may add : propping them under a chair for height

:lol: