Transcript Weeding for Your Library’s Health An Infopeople Workshop Winter 2006/2007 Francisca Goldsmith, Instructor [email protected] Agenda • • • • • • • Why weed Planning weeding projects Budget matters (money and time) Weeding shibboleths Weeding as a.

Weeding
for Your Library’s Health
An Infopeople Workshop
Winter 2006/2007
Francisca Goldsmith, Instructor
[email protected]
Agenda
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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?
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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?
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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Outdated and inaccurate information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– outdated design
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Superseded by newer materials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?
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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
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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
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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
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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 policy
2. Gather usage statistics
3. Build weeding into work
calendar
4. Take necessary tools to
shelf
5. 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
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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
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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
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Time
Replacement costs
Repair costs
Space for work flow
Whose Time?
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Collection development staff
Support staff
ILS managers
…and don’t forget
– Janitorial/maintenance staff
– Volunteers
Triaging Weeding Candidates
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Enrichment and replacement budgets
In house repair costs
Professional bindery costs
Existing electronic availability
Appropriate Disposal of Weeded
Materials
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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
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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?
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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
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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