Tuesday, October 13, 2009

A Weeding Frenzy

This week in my little temp library job at a small college library, I have been charged with weeding the business collection. Of course it goes without saying I am a lover of weeding! I just love culling the dead wood in a collection. I think it makes the newer stuff look nicer. I also (without fail!) find or re-discover something and go "wow".
Although weeding is second nature for me in my public library, I wanted to be conservative since I am the temp and I am a newbie at academic librarianship. Different collections and a different service mission translate into different weeding criteria. So how do you weed a collection when you don't know the collection or the users that well or feel comfortable with the task? Try this:
  • Pull obvious condition "issues".
  • Pull anything that is over ten years that could have a currency issue. (No, I don't mean fiction or humanities/art materials.)
  • Take a look at circulation or use stats.
  • Have another person review and discuss the choices.
  • Consider options: other sources of information, redundant databases, government information, web sites, etc.
  • Cart and let it sit for at least 24 hours. This should catch any impulsive decisions.
Experienced weeders might find this a bit cumbersome, but if you are new at a collection or at a new library with different clientele play it safe by giving yourself some wiggle room. Your fellow staffers will be more likely to "turn you loose" if you tell them you will abide by some self imposed standards like the above.

And of course if you turn up something perfectly appalling or funny, I would love to feature it on Awful Library books!

Weed away!
Mary
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6 comments:

  1. Mary,

    Do you not feel that it's important to ask the Business Faculty their opinion?

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  2. I would after doing the above and making sure I knew my collection well enough to discuss the particulars and redundancies. The above was a general comment when new to the library. I am not sure some of the faculty I have met would get in too much of a twist over dated materials geared toward undergrad studies. All purchase and weeding should be done with mindfulness to faculty interests and curriculum needs.
    Mary

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  3. Also I am sure you should consider the personalities and politics of all parties involved!

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  4. A few years ago I weeded the business section of a public library. It felt good to pull "how to" books on resumes and cover letters that looked, felt and smelled like they were from the 1970's! Though of course most of them were really just early 1990's...still out of date and ready to go.

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  5. Mary, I hate weeding! I take care of our reference stock, much of which is updated annually so it works nicely for me.

    I am headed into our store first thing Monday on the hunt for some awful library books for your other blog though!

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  6. Don't forget that the number of circulations alone is an incomplete picture -- also look at the date of most recent circulation. If the book went out a total of 30 times, but hasn't moved since the 1980s, that gives you a hint that weeding should be considered. Another way to feel more confident about what you're keeping is to check titles against a list of recommended books geared toward the subject area. Academic libraries should be aware of accreditation requirements for their campus programs, which often include lists of recommended books. Love the "Awful Library Books" blog!

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