Ivan Vegvary fired this volley in
:

Yes, I have not looked at these books for five years except the math
books. Don't really NEED any of them, but they were my life. When I
pass they will simply be thrown away. Maybe I should do it now.

Any experience with this down-sizing would be appreciated.

Ivan, you face the same quandry facing all professionals for whom the
technology has progressed past their prior art.

I am (albeit slowly) also discarding all the trappings of my prior
engineering past, because they ARE now available on the Web. And if that
collapses, and we're left in a "prior time", I'll still be more
knowledgeable than 90% of the new students coming into the disciplines.

To be sure, the old books will still exist in paper libraries. It's not
essential that we keep _everything_ we once relied up. I told my wife
once, that if "the 'cataclysm' happens, my first stop will be to rob the
local college library (which has an engineering school) -- even if it
must be at gunpoint -- and I'm taking a BIG trailer!!!!"

LLoyd