google books -
Can you transfer them to a handheld?
I read a lot of technical literature from late 1870s to 1920s anyway. One of the things I like about it is that I can carry literally thousands of books on hundreds of subjects in such a small package.
I do have a dead-tree library, but the last time I had to move it, it kicked my arse, and eats up most of my living room.
/johnny