last year I was in the exact same situation as you. I had 2 bookshelves full of old tech-books from the 80's and 90's, hardcover and
softcovers. I had boxes of every Dr. Dobbs magazine, every single MSDN magazine, old Compute! , Kilobaud from the 70's,
Byte 70s 80s 90s, .Circuit Cellar, Radio Electronics, QST, , yada yada yada
I tried for ages to sell them, donate them, then give them away, no one wanted a single one(!). I tried libraries, universities, computer clubs, etc, etc. etc. I was spending more time trying to find out what to do with them than it was worth, and I didn't
want to move them to a new apartment yet again...
In the end, I ended up doing what you are dreading.. and I tossed them all into a large recycling bin at my apartment complex.
Much of the magazines I could get on CD-ROM, so that was good. The textbooks and manuals, etc. were really just not worth keeping, to anyone.
You may find the same thing...