Okay people, if you need some better info on weeding, here is a link about the CREW method from the Texas State Library so you can feel professional and serious.
http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/pubs/crew/
In reality, I don’t think it takes a genius to weed some of these gems or a mathematical formula, but this will at least get you thinking about criteria for weeding and set some standards!
I also want to reiterate that the opinions expressed on ALB are strictly those of Holly and/or Mary. (Sarcastic quips and snotty attitudes are just a bonus!) ALB endorses creating a solid collection management plan that considers the mission and service population of the library.
9 responses so far ↓
Michael Golrick // June 3, 2009 at 11:22 am |
I would call the attitudes “properly snarky.”
Thanks for your great blog!
Jeanette Larson // June 6, 2009 at 3:42 pm |
I totally agree! It doesn’t take much more than common sense and a willingness to accept that books are NOT sacred in order to weed the collection.
marykelly48 // June 6, 2009 at 4:19 pm |
Much of our definition for “awful” is based on our collection developement goals for our medium sized public library. Of course, larger libraries, special and academic are going to look at items differently! I know I have a personal ax to grind on career and resume material. Holly’s triggers are bankruptcy and personal finance materials especially since the economy has tanked! Posterity sometimes has to take a backseat to helping my public!
Mary
Steph // June 9, 2009 at 12:16 pm |
All right on a little bit of a serious note. I can’t help but noticing that for every entry here, and the criteria of why a book is being weeded there’s some humorless naysayers with the “yeah but…” argument of why something should be kept.
I’m gonna cut right to the quick here, and as we say here in the Southland, “stir up the stink”. Folks, public libraries are not the Library of Congress. If you want to gather all that adorable crap up and auction it on e-bay and generate some real cash for your library, go for it. If you want to keep it on your shelves for historical value, you are doing yourselves and your community a disservice. Seriously, tell it to The Man on city council who by all outward appearances, it “looks like” you have enough books on the shelf so why do you need an increase in an acquisitions budget?
You studied Library Science, so apply those scientific principles, criteria, education and training. Weed your collection because you love and want to serve the living people of your community, do not weed ’cause you want to run a book mausoleum.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled program of chuckles and ha-has.
marykelly48 // June 10, 2009 at 1:24 pm |
Amen and hallelujah, Steph!
Mary and Holly
Torsten Adair // July 6, 2009 at 12:57 pm |
Remember:
Librarians who weed, succeed.
(Spent library school working in a GPO depository library collection. Amazing the stuff we had ossified on the shelves!)
Kell // July 8, 2009 at 11:27 am |
At our library, I came up with a nice companion to the CREW guidelines: items that are Big, Little, Or Wide. Yes, that would be BLOW.
Thank you, thank you…
LG // August 6, 2009 at 9:36 pm |
I’m crossing my fingers that my library will soon (as in, sometime during the next year) work out some kind of weeding policy. We’ve got a few people here and there who view all of our books as potential historical artifacts that must be kept “just in case.” It’s possible we might be scraping together the money for WorldCat Collection Analysis, and I’m absolutely thrilled at the idea that we could have quantified proof of how old our collection is. My own anecdotal evidence hasn’t been good enough to override the protectiveness some feel for our books.
Susan // December 4, 2009 at 11:57 am |
I am a big weeding proponent. However, I urge informed weeding, and not just looking at a publication date. I recently went to my local library to check out a copy of a Girl Scout handbook and was told it had been weeded a few days before because the Girl Scouts have a new program. Yes, they have a new program. Yes, the copyright date on the handbook is 1995. However, this is STILL THE HANDBOOK BEING ACTIVELY SOLD BY GSUSA for Cadette Girl Scouts. Some things in the book are outdated, and hopefully a new one will come out soon, but until then, don’t make me have to buy it to see if I want to recommend it to my girls.
OK, annoyed librarian (oh, not THE Annoyed Librarian) rant over.