Weeding for Your Library’s Health

An Infopeople Workshop

Winter 2006/2007

Francisca Goldsmith, Instructor

frg1@ci.berkeley.ca.us

Agenda

• Why weed• Planning weeding projects• Budget matters (money and time)• Weeding shibboleths• Weeding as a policy• Training weeding staff• Taking care to get good publicity

Introductions

• Name and library role

• Library type

• Collection responsibilities

What’s Your Weeding Worry?

• Making a (big) mistake

• Being misunderstood

• Having “too little” left

• Lacking human power to undertake

Why Is Weeding Difficult?

• Desire to husband all resources

• Fear of public scrutiny and disapproval

• Inadequate preparation of support staff and services

• Lack of clear plan for discards

• Crisis mode instead of maintenance

Weeding Is Collection Development

• Reselection and deselection– Would you select this material today?

• Preserving surrounding materials– Mildew, mites, and smells travel

• Focusing browsers on the useful– Eliminating useless distractions

What Causes the Need to Weed?

• Material’s condition

• Outdated and inaccurate information

• Unnecessary redundancy

• Crowded conditions

Condition

• Odors– Smoke– Mildew

• Dirt– Food– Grime

• Water damage– Full immersion– Limited staining

• Markings– Vandalism– Public editing

• Binding failures– Broken spines– Dog eared covers

• AV material degradation– Faded film– Irreprably scratched

surfaces

Datedness

• Old information can be– Interesting– Useful to some pursuits– Inaccurate– Dangerous– Prejudicial to remainder of collection

Redundancy

• How many copies are enough?

• How close is a library where the material is in scope?

Crowding

• When the good stuff can’t be found for the unnecessary

• Special circumstances– Temporary or permanent relocations– Windfall materials budget– Change in library’s scope or mission

Access Is Essential

• Shelving space

• Browsing space

• Clearing paths through the collection

MUSTIE

• Misleading information• Ugly appearance due to

– wear or – outdated design

• Superseded by newer materials• Trivial worth to users• Irrelevant to collection’s scope• Elsewhere would be a better place to find this

Using MUSTIE (MUSTY)

Assess some material you didn’t examine in Exercise #1. Use the California Department of Education MUSTY handout as a guide.

What Is a Weeding Plan?

• Local procedures

• Tied to available resources

• Practical, not ideal

• Thorough and balanced

• Informed by quantitative measures

• Connected to collection development policies

When’s the Best Time to Weed?

• Continuously– Ideal for collection and users– Difficult to achieve with small staff

• Special projects– Collection(s) relocation– Changes in local scope or priorities

• In an emergency– Physical disasters

How Often Is Continuously?

• How important is weeding to the health of your collection?

• When is a good time to add it to your work week?

• Which library functions can accommodate some aspect of the weeding process?

Weeding for Relocation

• Plan ahead--as long as a year

• Measure what you have

• Measure where you’re going

• Identify the indispensable

• What won’t last until you return?

Weeding for Changes in Scope

• Grade levels using the school library

• Technical methods used by the firm

• Information provided through online subscriptions

• Added or deleted courses of study

Essential Tools

• Knowledge of subcollection

• Circulation trends

• Current community profile

• Standard bibliographies

Weeding Steps

• Identify inappropriate material

• Triage for replacement, mending, total removal

• Remove records from database

• Dispose of material suitably

Weeding Methods

• CREW

• Weed of the Month

• Circulation point

• Standing orders

• Annual inventory

CREW

• Continuous Review– Circulation/use records– Local interests/needs

• Evaluation– Condition– Relevancy

• Weeding– Timely– Steady pace

CREW’s 10 Steps

1. Weeding is policy2. Gather usage statistics3. Build weeding into work

calendar4. Take necessary tools to

shelf5. Study whole area first,

then consider item by item

6. Check library’s holdings

7. Check pulled items against library’s subject indexes

8. Triage individual pulled items

9. Replace items and update subject area

10.Display underused but sound materials

Tools to Take to the Shelf

• Circulation/use data printout

• Paper slips for individual item notes

• Subject bibliography

• Book truck

• Stool for seating, climbing

SUNLINK’s Weed of the Month

• Topical focus– Reason to weed the topic– Suggested Dewey numbers to check– Specific weeding criteria

Collections with Special Needs

• Reference material

• Audiovisual formats

• Young adult/teen collections

• Children’s collections

• Journals

Extra Help for Special Concerns

• Consumer health advice

• Community redistribution plans

• Trading posts for backfiles

Weeding at Circulation

• Spot check materials going out

• Evaluate condition upon return– Binding?– Loose pages?– Missing parts?

• Handle with care

Standing Orders

• Weed superseded editions– Laws change– Directory listings become inaccurate

• State the threshold of tolerance– Travel books– Exam materials

Regular Inventory

• Standing order plans

• Sets with missing parts

• Grant-funded expansions

Budgeting for Weeding

• Time

• Replacement costs

• Repair costs

• Space for work flow

Whose Time?

• Collection development staff

• Support staff

• ILS managers

• …and don’t forget– Janitorial/maintenance staff– Volunteers

Triaging Weeding Candidates

• Enrichment and replacement budgets

• In house repair costs

• Professional bindery costs

• Existing electronic availability

Appropriate Disposal of Weeded Materials

• California state law

• Ethical considerations

• Fund raising alternatives

• Maintaining records

When to Replace?

• Material continues to be– Intellectually sound– Pertinent to the community– Not superseded by other material in collection

Relegating to In-House Repairs?

• Scope of mending staff’s skill sets• Balancing desire to recover the old against

resources to process new material • Alternatives

– Replacement with donations– Skilled volunteers– Appropriate handling by staff during regular circulation

procedures

Planning Professional Restoration in Lieu

of Weeding?• Binding

– Is the interior worthy of saving?

• Replacing missing pages– How many is “too many”?

• Replacement parts for av materials– Contracts in place to reduce costs?

Using Your Policy

• Formulate for reliability– Check for fit in terms of scope and capacity

• Revisit regularly– New times bring new formats and – New ideas

• Publicize the rules you’re weeding by– Play fair with your staff and – Your public

Who Needs Weeding Information?

• Support staff

• Library board/commissioners

• Teachers

• Public

• Local media

Communicating the Plan

• Collection development policy

• Stakeholder input• Staff training

• Published and available

• Library’s users• Absolutely everyone

“Weeding is a necessary adjunct of selection since it systematically eliminates unnecessary items; outdated or superseded materials; titles infrequently used, no longer of interest or in demand; unnecessary duplicates; and worn out or mutilated copies.” Kansas Public Library Policy Manual

Other Words for Weeding

• Collection maintenance

• Reselection

• Pruning

• Editing

• Culling

In Emergency Situations

• Clarify– Scope of related weeding need– Likelihood for recurrence

• Direct– Weeding procedures– PR

• Update– Library’s users– Staff

The Message Matters

• Who?• How?• Why?

• Professional staff• Deliberation• Stewardship

Allies

• Support staff– Informed and trained– Designated role in process

• Friends groups– Beneficiaries– Assistants

• Faculty– Input– Institutional awareness

Next Steps

• Postcard check-in (30 days)

• Unfinished business

• Evaluation