Collection Management Program – Weeding – November 29, 2007
Two weeding standards that most libraries follow
MUSTIE
• Misleading or factually inaccurate
• Ugly (worn beyond repair)
• Superseded by new edition or better book
• Trivial (no discernible literary or scientific value)
• Irrelevant (your collection no longer has a use for the item)
• Elsewhere (available though ILL or branch holds)
CREW
• Continuous
• Review
• Evaluation
• Weeding
Depending on the subject, it seems recommended to remove books between two to five years. Specific guidelines can be seen at this website: http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/pubs/crew/guidelines.html
It is especially important to keep up with subjects like science and technology which are constantly changing.
Some ways to keep up with changing information are:
1. by using RSS feeds for news sites
2. joining listservs such as YALSA-Bk or PUBYAC
3. sharing what you find out with your fellow librarians
It is especially difficult to get rid of books just because they are worn out or ratty looking, but remember, if you wouldn’t check out a book because its beat up, neither would a teenager. I make use of circulation staff and pages in this process. If they see that a book is too beat up to be any use, they put it on my desk. If they see that its beat up and very popular, they fill out a replacement order form and delete it immediately.
It’s a good idea to occasionally do a quick browse of the teen section. If you see books that are in really bad shape, get rid of them right away. Once a year you should do a major weeding.
The best way to start weeding is by going to the LAS homepage and requesting a report.
You can request a dusty book report and narrow it down by sections, such as 53H3 (teen hardcover) or 53P3 (teen paperback).
According to the site:
This report lists all items that have not circulated since a certain date. The report is sorted by location and then call number. It includes detailed information about each item. It lists title, author, barcode, number of circs, and lots of other useful information.
You can also go directly to the section and wand each book in, to show the last time its been out. This is a good idea if you want to narrow in on a specific area of non-fiction because then you can see what other books you own on that topic.
Remember to keep in mind when you are weeding that it is not bad ordering choices but rather fickle teen tastes that are forcing you to weed that book you thought was great.
Reasons to weed:
1. Space – No one ever has enough space, but an area that is crowded and crammed is a lot less appealing than an are that has room to breath.
2. Condition – this is the easiest and most obvious reason to weed. If the book is in horrible condition, get rid of it!
3. Accuracy – if the information in the books people are checking out is inaccurate, it can mean bad grades on papers, or worse (in the case of medical information)
4. Tastes/Timeliness – Teens tastes change. If people aren’t interested in DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince anymore, don’t waste the space. If the book covers have teen with teased up hair and stone washed jeans, get rid of it.
Weeding is good for the soul. It makes the library more attractive and people will be more likely to browse if they see lovely spacious bookshelves.
If you are worried about getting rid of certain books, create a “Save Us” display. Let teens know that you are planning to get rid of the displayed books and that they need to save them. If the books still don’t go out, you know that you were correct in thinking to weed them.
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