The 'W' Word: Weeding!
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The “W” Word “Weeding” in library circles is often a dirty word. Why would we want to get rid of anything? Maybe you have experienced a backlash or resistance from the community, persistent patrons, your board, your staff, or even yourself. How we approach the task is as important as how we carry it out. Preparation, publicity, timing, mindset, and creating your strategy all figure in the first steps of deselection. After this webinar participants will • understand how weeding fits into the larger scheme of collection management • understand more fully the need for deselection of materials and the reasons for resistance to weeding. • understand the need for transparency and working with public relations in relation to weeding. • be able to get started on a strategic plan for weeding in their library.
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The 'W' Word: Weeding!
- 1. The ‘W’ Word: Weeding! “But someone might want that book!!”
- 2. The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com
- 3. The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com After this webinar participants will • understand how weeding fits into the larger scheme of collection management • understand more fully the need for deselection of materials and the reasons for resistance to weeding. • understand the need for transparency and working with public relations in relation to weeding. • be able to get started on a strategic plan for weeding in their library. Objectives
- 4. Collection Management Budgeting, Evaluating, Selecting, Assessing, and Maintaining the collection of information provided by your institution. The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com
- 5. Collection Management Policy Says HOW you are: Budgeting, Evaluating, Selecting, Assessing, and Maintaining the collection of information provided by your institution. It saves you loads of time and trouble. The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com
- 6. Assessing, and Maintaining the collection of information provided by your institution. The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com Weeding
- 7. Weeding De-selection De-accession Culling Otherwise known as ‚Intelligent discarding of library materials” The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com Re-Fining Shaping Withdrawing Purging
- 8. The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com
- 9. Improve Heighten Strengthen Enrich Cultivate Refine Collection Development The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com ‚To Develop‛
- 10. Antonyms for ‘refine’ include: dirty, damage, pollute, corrupt Change the Focus The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com If we are ‘refining’ the collection we are Improving it!
- 11. Why weed? Overcrowding Outdated information/technology Poor shape Shift in Community Needs Poor quality of material The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com
- 12. Why we don’t weed Emotional attachment Reluctance to judge Difficult decisions Fear of public reprisal Fear of ‚empty shelves‛ The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com
- 13. The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com
- 14. Why we don’t weed ‚It’s better to have older items than nothing at all.‛ The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com Libraries with fresher collections had higher circulation than larger collections with older materials. “Maintaining a Healthy Library Collection: the Need to Weed” Chris Jones, Aplis, 20 (4). ‚I/We just don’t have the time or staff.‛ You find the time to purchase the items. Some are easy choices, others take some review. Weeding is the same thing. Why is one more important that the other?
- 15. Why we don’t weed The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com ‚A book that is outdated, damaged, poorly written or even dangerous still has value and still holds information that should never be lost – even if only to warn us not to travel certain roads again.‛ “Is it the purpose of EVERY library to preserve the entirety of the human published record? Is that proper stewardship at your library?”
- 16. How to fight the Hoarding Instinct You can always find it elsewhere There may be a better place for it It’s okay for something to not be right at your fingertips Weigh it against what you cannot have because you kept it. The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com
- 17. Collection Management Policy Treat ‘unacquiring’ with the same due process as acquiring! The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com May 6th: Collection Management Policies
- 18. Weeding & Public Relations Collection Management Policies Weeding on a regular basis (under the radar) Educated staff Transparency Educated public The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com
- 19. Why we don’t weed: Customer Edition The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com “It would be wonderful to keep more books, but libraries are not black holes. The shelves are only so big and expansions are expensive and rare. We, as librarians, can cater to the majority or to a few patrons, who may or may not exist, who are researching the history of a topic. We buy books on the history of all topics. I would rather have a new book on cancer treatments and a book on the history of cancer than keep all the old books on cancer treatment and give sick patrons and their families inaccurate information.” “It pains me greatly that our public library has discarded so many wonderful books now out of print – especially children’s books. And when I looked online to buy some of them the prices were stunning – many in the triple digits! Funny how those used, out of print treasures were almost all library discards.” “I’d rather see the books on the shelves with stickers or labels informing the public that this book is outdated and may not contain the most recent information and/or incorrect information. Something like that rather than taking away from the pubic. Additional information is positive, limiting access to information is a negative.” Excerpts from Awful Library Books http://awfullibrarybooks.net/why-weed/
- 20. Weeding & Public Relations It’s not always because of technology. Community Needs Change! The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com
- 21. The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com Austin Public Library Annual Weeding Contest Public Relations
- 22. The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com Tell ‘em about it! Public Relations
- 23. The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com Avoiding That BIG PROJECT Just like anything in life, the more you do it the easier it is. Make it part of regular duties.
- 24. Collection Management is Like Gardening Neglected Insert regular maintenance Voila! The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com
- 25. The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com
- 26. Benefits of Weeding on a regular basis Assess patterns of usage Find hidden gems Keep up with missing titles (series/current topics) Assist with selection process Cataloging improvements Easier and not as noticeable as a BIG weed! The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com
- 27. The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com Tackling That BIG PROJECT Treat it like a remodel. Look at the positive rather than the negative. Focus on the results. Let people know what you are doing!
- 28. Getting Started The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com MAKE A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN Check your policies Involve everyone Determine the Public Relations approach Determine the workflow Select where discards go Don’t look for trouble if it isn’t there
- 29. Project Planning and Management The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com MAKE A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN Stakeholders: staff, management, board, governing bodies (if applicable), customers, and community. Do you have a Project Definition & Scope? (what are you doing and how much does it affect) Project Objectives? (what are the goals and expected results) Cost / Benefit Analysis? (why should we do this) Staffing Requirements? (how many people/hours do we need) Time Line? (when are you starting, ending, and what are the milestones in between) Risk Analysis? (What could happen and how would we deal with it) Critical Success Criteria (if we meet these, we've met our goals)
- 30. The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com How-To May 27th: Weeding: The Action
- 31. The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com
- 32. Is there an agency better suited to house that material? The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com
- 33. The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com
- 34. The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com
- 35. What to do with books that are out of date, inaccurate, or dangerous? The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com
- 36. The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com Because if we don’t laugh we cry . . .
- 37. The 'W' Word: Weeding ©2014 Melissa M. Powell/Bibioease.com
Notes de l'éditeur
- My name is Melissa Powell and I work as an independent librarian and consultant. I teach Cataloging, Collection Management, and Customer Service courses. Today I am coming to you live from the comfort of my home office in Fort Collins, CO where the sun is shining and the cats are sleeping in their respective beds.
- My goals for you are that after this webinar are that you will• understand how weeding fits into the larger scheme of collection management• understand more fully the need for deselection of materials and the reasons for resistance to weeding.• understand the need for transparency and working with public relations in relation to weeding.• be able to get started on a strategic plan for weeding in your library.
- Weeding is just a small part of the whole concept known as Collection Management which is everything that has to do with what is owned and housed in the library either physically or virtually. This includes budgeting, evaluating, selecting, assessing, and general maintenance of all that your institution provides.
- One of the most important things you can have at your library is a comprehensive Collection Management/Development Policy. This policy defines HOW you are conducting Collection management at your library. This document acts as a manual for all aspects of collection management so it eliminates guessing. This is a key component to running your institution and preventing a lot of trouble that can come with selecting and withdrawing materials as well as equipment, technology, programming, etc. The American Library Association defines collection development policies (CDP) as 'documents which define the scope of a library's existing collections, plan for the continuing development of resources, identify collection strengths, and outline the relationship between selection philosophy and the institution's goals, general selection criteria, and intellectual freedom'.The primary purpose of a written collection development policy is to lay down guidelines for selecting materials for the collection of the library. It also describes steps on weeding (deselection), retention, preservation and archiving. It helps in identifying gaps in collections and it can help the library users understand what to expect from the library and what to recommend to be added to the collection. According to Hoffmann and Wood (2005), collection development policy statement often focuses on the communication function: internally, with the users, staff, and administrators, and externally, with other libraries and institutions. Hoffmann, F.W., & Wood, R.J. (2005). Library collection development policies: academic, public, and special libraries. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press.
- What we are talking about today is the assessment and maintenance of the information provided by your institution. With a well-written Collection Management Policy you have guidelines for how to assess your collection—what you are keeping, what criteria you use to determine what you are not and how you will be dispose of those unwanted materials.
- Weeding is referred to my many euphemisms. Weeding, de-selection, de-accession, culling, and my favorite “intelligent discarding of library materials”. It is known by a variety of terms, such as de-selection, purging, de-accession, withdrawing, culling, the intelligent discarding of library materials. I like the terms refining and shaping, myself.
- Patrons, and often staff and volunteers, can see if differently. Censorship, destruction, disrespect are often terms thrown about when a library is attempting to maintain an appropriate collection for their community.
- Let’s go back to defining our terms: We use the phrase “collection development” to describe this aspect of what we do. The dictionary definition of “Develop” means to improve, heighten, strengthen, enrich, cultivate, or refine.
- So, if we are developing our collection we are refining and strengthening our collection. That is a very positive thing! Looking at antonyms we find dirty, damaged, pollute, corrupt. Same goes for strengthen: weaken, diminish, undermine, lessen.
- You probably already know the reasons for weeding. We do it because we are out of room, we have outdated info or technology, items are in poor physical shape, there has been a shift in our community, or the material we are providing is just plain bad, whether through advances in information or, what I like to call, the cheese factor. Those lovely “learn to use the library” books from the 70’s that we like to laugh over in the staff room. There are many different reasons for weeding. The most obvious to everyone, even the patron, is overcrowding. No room left on the shelves.The biggee—poor quality of material. Sometimes we make mistakes in selection and buy something that is so poorly written or inaccurate that we have to get rid of it. It happens. Recently a publisher recalled the book “The Jefferson Lies” by David Barton because of factual errors and lack of valid citations. This happens more than you think!
- However, what prevents us from performing this very important task? We get attached! We are in libraries because we love books. We love information. We work hard on our collections and we don’t want to see it go! Especially if we weed a book we bought. FAILURE! We also are reluctant to judge ? Who are we to say what is good and what is no longer useful? We also find ourselves having to make difficult decisions and this is never a fun thing. WE know that our patrons are lurking in our dumpsters just waiting for the chance to jump at us for doing something wrong! We also know that patrons will see empty shelves and accuse us of getting rid of perfectly good items and not providing them with the materials they pay hard-earned tax dollars for!It’s human nature to avoid making difficult decisions. It’s too hard to decide so I will just not do it. We are afraid of what will happen if someone comes in and asks for that book. Or digs through the dumpster and comes marching into the library. Or goes to the paper. My favorite are the folks who bring discarded books out of the book sale and put them back on the shelf. We feel we have disappointed them and we hate that!If people come in and see space they will think we are not using their tax dollars for books and will take it away. Books are a solid and visual reminder of where their money is spent. Services are not.
- Wouldn’t it be great if books came with expiration dates!?!? No one ever yells at the grocer for getting rid of expired products. In fact, they get yelled at for NOT removing old things! “Sorry ma’am, but if I get rid of those rotten tomatoes we will have no tomatoes on the shelves!”
- These are actual statements I have heard from librarians across the country. “It’s better to have older items than nothing at all.” We know this is just not true. Like the tomato example, Libraries with fresher collections had higher circulation than larger collections with older materials. People don’t want moldy tomatoes and they certainly don’t want items that are outdated whether they know it or not!“Maintaining a Healthy Library Collection: the Need to Weed” Chris Jones, Aplis, 20 (4). I/We just don’t have the time or staff to do a weeding project.” You find the time to purchase the items. Some are easy choices, others take some review. Weeding is the same thing. Why is one more important that the other?
- From a recent online forum: One librarian stated that “A book that is outdated, damaged, poorly written or even dangerous still has value and still holds information that should never be lost – even if only to warn us not to travel certain roads again.” Another replied, “Is it the purpose of EVERY library to preserve the entirety of the human published record? Is that proper stewardship at your library?” That’s the Library of Congress’ job. The local library cannot be the holder of all the information produced by mankind throughout the ages. And we have this thing called interlibrary loan.
- We pride ourselves on getting people the information they want and it is NOT all in our library! Borrow it from someone that does have it or find it online. There may be a better place for it! That item that is fragile, of true historical value, or needs some expertise may be better off somewhere that can take care of it and expose to it even more people. Or even digitize it and make it available to EVERYONE! In this day and age of instant gratification we do not need everything at our fingertips. It is okay to take some time and find what a person wants—that is called quality. And how many things are you NOT buying because you are keeping this item?This is where hoarding comes in. We are all familiar with it now. There are ½ a dozen shows on television about hoarding and I cringe when I hear them justify why they are keeping something using the very words I have used. When does a collection become a hoard?It’s okay for things to not be at your fingertips. Having worked in libraries before the age of the computer I can tell you that we would take reference questions and tell people we would get back to them, often days later after phone calls or ILLs. They need to learn patience again.If you want to keep an item what do you have to give up to do so? What will you not be buying? What service will you have to cut? How will it affect the public’s overall view o the library and it’s relevancy.
- This is where that collection management policy comes in. You need to treat unacquiring the items with the same thought and care that you acquire them. Comprehensive and relevant collection management policies givesthe public proof that you have thought this out and think it is important. I will be talking more in depth about writing collection management policies in the class on May 6th.
- Now the real source of a lot of our problems: public perception. How do we keep this process from blowing up in our faces as it has for many others? Well, #1—well-written polies. Then making sure you follow that policy by weeding on a regular basis. You don’t purchase in large clumps once a year or every 10 years. Think about it. Educate your staff—the more they understand the machinations of collection management the better they can answer questions. Let people know what you are doing. Making the public aware of the ins and outs of collection management brings understanding of the stewardship element of what we do. This is a great way to educate the public as well. The more they know the less they can jump to erroneous conclusions. 10-20% of all customers will always have a bone to pick with you and will never be happy. However the 80-90% who aren’t grouches are who you need to please.Including collection management training for ALL staff means that they can answer questions intelligently and thoughtfully. It also gives you more pairs of eyes assessing the collection and bringing things to your attention. They take pride in the collection.Not hiding the fact that you professionally assess the collection regularly and care about the content, update your polices, and do this very important procedure goes a long way. This goes along with educating the public. Articles, community speaking, calling in experts to assist, showing the value of assessment, all work to lessen the impact.
- One of my favorite websites is “Awful Library Books”. These were comments I found on a post called why weed ? “It pains me greatly that our public library has discarded so many wonderful books now out of print – especially children’s books. And when I looked online to buy some of them the prices were stunning – many in the triple digits! Funny how those used, out of print treasures were almost all library discards.” “I’d rather see the books on the shelves with stickers or labels informing the public that this book is outdated and may not contain the most recent information and/or incorrect information. Something like that rather than taking away from the pubic. Additional information is positive, limiting access to information is a negative.”The librarian response was perfect: “It would be wonderful to keep more books, but libraries are not black holes. The shelves are only so big and expansions are expensive and rare. We, as librarians, can cater to the majority or to a few patrons, who may or may not exist, who are researching the history of a topic. We buy books on the history of all topics. I would rather have a new book on cancer treatments and a book on the history of cancer than keep all the old books on cancer treatment and give sick patrons and their families inaccurate information.” This hearkens back to the mission statement of your library. Is your mission to provide ALL materials on a particular subject right there in your building? This way of thinking is very narrow—if I don’t see it in front of me it doesn’t exist”.
- There is also the trend of thought that libraries are getting rid of books to make room for computers. In a way we are—many materials are much more informative and up to date online and our communities benefit from access to the internet. We do our part to bridge the digital divide. Computers are a part of a well-educated community. However, that is not the only reason to cull the collection. Community needs change—the population may be getting older, younger, more diverse, and the collection needs to reflect that. Or interest has waned in a particular type of information. Move it out so the things people ARE interested in can come in. We already know that a poor economy increases library usage and what they are looking for may change drastically from the years before. I am not saying totally cater to your population. A library is a place to learn, explore, and create, so some materials need to be things that support this.Focusing on the WHOLE process, that you assess the material for many criteria, add where there is lacking, take out what is no longer relevant, make sure everything is in “working order”. Just as you do with computer equipment. People don’t get all worked up when you bring in new computers, but they sure would be ticked if you still had the old clunky computers and software from 10 years ago. It’s the same principle. Emphasize that you are not getting rid of “old” but assessing what is still relevant and bringing in more up to date and relevant material. Yes, there are classics however something less appealing had to be removed years ago to make room for that now “classic” book!
- Some ideas for PR which also help educate the community and create transparency include the Austin Public Library’s annual weeding contest. A blog post is created on their website, sent in the e-newsletter, and a corresponding display is done in the library. This creates discussion, so it is VITAL that the whole staff understands and can have an intelligent conversation about this process. In this case the staff votes, however I would LOVE to see what patrons think!
- Include the process in your regular news, just as you do new books, programs, etc. Stop hiding it. That’s where we get into trouble. You say, “if they read this they will get upset”. Some may. This is why educating your staff and yourself on the policies, reasons, and discussion points is so important. Remember all the positives? Share those! Now, not everyone is going to agree because there are many curmudgeons and armchair experts out there. What you want to do is make the information available and understandable so this one person or group has a hard time convincing others because they have all the facts themselves. There is no misconstruing and twisting the information because everyone has access to it. And not everyone is going to like you or what you and your library does, so just remember, they are only about 10-20% of your users (or non-users). Get the other 80-90% behind you by being open and willing to discuss. One of your handouts is on Weeding & Public relations. There is a link to the ALA list of links and articles as well as two case studies that you can review and discuss at your library or another group.
- The BEST way to not have a PR disaster? Don’t wait so long it is a ginormous project that everyone notices. Make it part of your regular duties, just as purchasing, shelving, etc are. It is like gardening. If we weed daily it’s a fairly easy, and often enjoyable job. If we wait we keep waiting because then it becomes a chore and that only makes it worse. It is also less likely to be noticed by patrons because you have reached equilibrium. You purchase new titles, remove older less used ones, and it is rarely ever noticed. [change slide] All they see is a well appointed library that is fun to browse. Weeding regularly (even daily) keeps in “under the radar” and doesn’t call attention to the fact you are getting rid of items. People will notice, especially if it is something they like or use, but when the flow out matches the flow in they don’t get as upset.
- The BEST way to not have a PR disaster? Don’t wait so long it is a ginormous project that everyone notices. Make it part of your regular duties, just as purchasing, shelving, etc are. It is like gardening. If we weed daily it’s a fairly easy, and often enjoyable job. If we wait we keep waiting because then it becomes a chore and that only makes it worse. It is also less likely to be noticed by patrons because you have reached equilibrium. You purchase new titles, remove older less used ones, and it is rarely ever noticed. [change slide]
- All they see is a well appointed library that is fun to browse.
- There are many benefits to regular weeding. Looking at the collection on a regular basis you get a better sense of what is being used and what isn’t. And you can often determine why, so maybe weeding is not the solution, but doing something else with it. YOU definitely find hidden gems that perhaps just need a little boost. “The best books you aren’t reading” display. YOU have a better idea of what is and isn’t on the shelves—maybe you need more on that topic, or a way to inform the public what you have and how to access it, maybe you are missing volume one is a series and THAT’S why the rest of the series isn’t checking out. You know your collection so much better. I am a cataloger and it frustrates me to no end that people don’t come and ask me what we can do to let people know or help them find our materials. A good cataloger will add subject headings, summaries, notes, or even find a better call # to move an item to a place where someone WILL find it. And again, it is SO much better than removing loads of books all at once.
- Of course some of you may have to conduct a big weed to even get to the ‘daily” stage. In that case, be very up front with what you are doing. Yes, people are going to question: don’t treat that as a confrontation. Treat it as the question it is, whether they pose it that way or not. BE excited about what you are doing! You are cleaning up the collection, making it more useable, redefining the focus, updating it. Just like a remodel, it is for the benefit of the library users. How fabulous is THAT?!?! When you are done and the dust clears people will be amazed! Get creative! Look at it the same way you would a remodel and focus the PR campaign that way! I just read about one library that needed to get rid of a large collection of science fiction because it was just not being read there. They advertised for libraries, schools, or other public institutions to take it, lock, stock and barrel. It worked!
- Before you even pull a book make a comprehensive plan. Start with checking your policies to make sure you are following them, or if need be, update them. This will delay the project but it will make the process easier. Involve everyone on the staff. If they feel part of it by at least understanding it they will own the process. Decide how you are going let the public AND staff know about the project and the progress of the project. Who is doing what and how? Decide, BEFORE YOU START PULLING, where the discards are going and let people know. Especially for items with misinformation—sorry the information is old and NOT suitable for homeschoolers. And first and foremost, don’t look for trouble. You may know who is going to protest. DO NOT write the plan to accommodate them. Write your plan and then deal with any issues that may arise in a positive and informative manner. Remember, be excited that you are updating and creating a ‘remodeled’ library! And grumps will be grumps.
- I gave you a handouts on project planning. One covers the steps to consider when writing the plan and the other is a great example of a plan available online. It is worth the extra time to make sure you have covered all of your bases and are as ready as you can be for anything that may arise during the project. A couple of weeks, or even months, can save you that horrible scrambling feeling. Think about it this way, would you let a contractor come in and just start tearing down and rebuilding without a plan? Well, I hope not!Things that need to be in a project plan before you even begin include: Do you have a Project Definition & Scope? (what are you doing and how much does it affect)Project Objectives? (what are the goals and expected results)Cost / Benefit Analysis? (why should we do this)Staffing Requirements? (how many people/hours do we need)Time Line? (when are you starting, ending, and what are the milestones in between)Risk Analysis? (What could happen and how would we deal with it)Critical Success Criteria (if we meet these, we've met our goals)You are going to think of things later and that’s okay. This process is trying to think of as much as you can or at least have a plan in place for those things you discover as you go along. You will be revisiting a lot of it as you do the project and may even have to scrap things. BE FLEXIBLE. [Go through project planning handout].
- There are many books and websites on weeding. May 27th workshop will go more into those details and how to make decisions and dealing with things that might arise as you weed. This covers regular weeding as well as a big project. WE will talk about how to set up a regular weeding plan.
- Basic tips for assessing the collection for weeding. Of course circulation of the material is important and the formulas for this are addressed in the CREW Manual available for free on the Texas State Library website. What I want to cover are some of the every day things you can use.Obvious candidates are duplicates of bestsellers that are no longer popular and other multiple copies. If they are on the shelf they have passed their heyday. Condition. We talked about that earlier. Would you want to sit and read that book?Accuracy of information. Both the badly researched/written we discussed before and the outdated. I can’t tell you how many times I have worked with libraries and when I suggested that the 2001 travel guide was no longer relevant they would counter with “it’s our only book on that topic”. Well, technically you still don’t have any books on that topic because this one is broken—it doesn’t work anymore. It is outdated. Better none than bad.Budget considerations—is the money better spent having these reference sources online? More up to date, more availability, and often less expensive when you calculate usage and space. And space.
- Sometimes we get donations or have materials that are of historical value and people think the library is where it belongs. Sometimes they are right, if you have the space, staff, and expertise. Other times you are doing that material a favor when you give it a proper home in an archive, museum, university, or other place where it will receive more use, be preserved, and otherwise given it’s place of honor.[rural library example]
- There are many things you can do with weeded materials besides throwing them away. But remember, some books are too old or outdated to be useful, so dispose of them appropriately. Included links on the Resources on Weeding handout.There are companies and non-profits who specialize in buying discarded library books. Some booksellers will take them, but usually they want books with no marks, stamps, damage. However, having an expert come in and assess your culled materials is always good. Sometimes something is so rare only old library books are the only copies available.Friends booksales are always good. There are programs that take library books that still have value for needy libraries as well.Some doctor’s offices, daycares, etc would like them. but be aware of content, condition. Don’t just make them the easy way out and give them horrible books.Some school libraries are in need of newer materials, so duplicates in good shape may be well-received.Get clever—Little Free Libraries are popping up all over.Just make sure it is clearly marked WITHDRAWN! Or you might get them back.
- Outdated material at FOL book sales? Bad. If the information is bad the book is bad. It’s like keeping your old TV even if it doesn’t work. Or all of your old cell phones, or other appliances that don’t work. The book no longer works! These must be destroyed. [science fair example]
- ART! Repurpose! Included links on the Resources on Weeding handout.[cookbook example]
- Remember—you are assessing your collection for content. The materials provide the content. They are NOT the be all and end all of the library. They are merely the parts.I love books, but the co-dependent relationship we have with books has to stop. Don’t be a book-a-holic. I would hate to see you on the show “Intervention”.