Book burning

Did you ever feel indignant at those poor bedouins who made sandals from Kumran scrolls? Did you perhaps think that your country is safe from such barbarism? Think again. The university library has circulated an email saying that they want to MODERNIZE their collection and to make room for more computer terminals (what else). To do this, they plan to discard ALL books that have not been checked out in the past 10 years, plus the old books for which newer editions are available. A particularly touching quote from the librarian's email included 'all those obsolete 19th century textbooks'. Really, why keep the old crap? A quick look through the volumes destined for destruction revealed a 1903 optics textbook by Michelson, a 1920s volume on quantum mechanics by Pauli, the original edition of a book on experimental physics by Robert Wood, and several other, equally insignificant, works. I am now really torn between the obligation to tell them to keep those books and the desire to quietly arrange to salvage the books before they are destroyed. Because if the library does not have room for them then my bookshelf certainly does.