So, forgive me for being naive, but I am left wondering... why do this at all? Is there a demand for this stuff?
In terms of "is there market demand to sell copies of these manuals for a profit" or whatever? Probably not, which is why they were slated for disposal in the first place. But do they serve an important role in maintaining the historical record and connecting the dots across time? Absolutely? Are they invaluable to at least a handful of individuals out there "right now"? Almost certainly. Will they be of value to somebody else "down the road"? I'd wager yes.
It's not just 50,000 old manuals, it's a huge body of knowledge, much of which probably isn't yet in digital form, and a large portion of which would probably be lost for good if this trove of manuals had gone to the landfill. Now, IF all the things can happen that would need to happen (raising money, blah), and this collection can be scanned and digitized and placed online, you're talking about a real treasure trove of useful knowledge.
Imagine the kid at J. Random Hackerspace who finds an old oscilloscope at a flea-market for $15.00. What a wonderful project it would be to fix that thing up, get it working, and watch a circuit work using it. But what if he wasn't able to find a parts list, schematics, or operators manual? But if this batch of material is truly saved, how much better is his chance of finding what he needs? How could someone's life be changed by participating in a project like that? A lifetime of interest in electronics, engineering, making, and building could be sparked (heh, pun intended) by something like that.
So yeah, these manuals do fill a useful, if indirect, role. Jason and the other volunteers are "doing FSM's work" as far as I'm concerned.
See also, bane's comment above. He puts it much more eloquently than I do.
In terms of "is there market demand to sell copies of these manuals for a profit" or whatever? Probably not, which is why they were slated for disposal in the first place. But do they serve an important role in maintaining the historical record and connecting the dots across time? Absolutely? Are they invaluable to at least a handful of individuals out there "right now"? Almost certainly. Will they be of value to somebody else "down the road"? I'd wager yes.
It's not just 50,000 old manuals, it's a huge body of knowledge, much of which probably isn't yet in digital form, and a large portion of which would probably be lost for good if this trove of manuals had gone to the landfill. Now, IF all the things can happen that would need to happen (raising money, blah), and this collection can be scanned and digitized and placed online, you're talking about a real treasure trove of useful knowledge.
Imagine the kid at J. Random Hackerspace who finds an old oscilloscope at a flea-market for $15.00. What a wonderful project it would be to fix that thing up, get it working, and watch a circuit work using it. But what if he wasn't able to find a parts list, schematics, or operators manual? But if this batch of material is truly saved, how much better is his chance of finding what he needs? How could someone's life be changed by participating in a project like that? A lifetime of interest in electronics, engineering, making, and building could be sparked (heh, pun intended) by something like that.
So yeah, these manuals do fill a useful, if indirect, role. Jason and the other volunteers are "doing FSM's work" as far as I'm concerned.
See also, bane's comment above. He puts it much more eloquently than I do.