NASA's Largest Library To Permanently Close On Jan 2, Books Will Be 'Tossed Away'

[haele]

10. Depends. They might be heading out to government auction.

When the military "tosses" obsolete equipment, furniture, manuals or other property, it goes to auction if they think it might have some worth. Ammo and Weapons are sold to foreign nations or given to National Guards or official "police" agencies. Missiles or ammunition that is more complex might be sent back to a manufacturer for upgrades or repurposing of parts and components into newer systems.
As for records, they've gone on microphish or electronic records if they have potential research, tactical, or historical value. The historic records they don't have copied are typically sent to interested museums or research facilities; there's always some organization interested in the R&D or battle orders/movements for various systems or operations.
Why just pay to throw something that has potential value into a landfill that others might pay good money for?

I hope that NASA might do the same; that they've let "the community" know over the past year that they're closing their library down and made what information hasn't been transferred to electronic archive or copied available for bid or dibs.