Weeding 101Weeding 101

Dr. Donna BaumbachUniversity of Central Florida

(retired to NC!)

baumbach@mail.ucf.edu

Thanks!

• For the invitation• For your patience• For answering the

questions on the discussion boards

• For your participation tonight

Congrats, Dr. Matzen!

• Collection Development courses frequently do NOT cover weeding

• Collection Development policies frequently do not mention weeding

Weeding is…

• …an essential part of collection development.

• …selection in reverse.• …de-selection.• …separating the wheat from the

chaff.• …critical to a healthy collection of

print and non print materials.

Why Weed?

• Professional responsibility– Collections are the heart of what we do

• Dangerous/misleading information• “Facts” change• Improved appearance of library and

shelves• More appealing to users• “Good stuff” stands out

Why Weed?

• Get to know the collection better– Discover “new” resources– Discover “holes”

• Discover errors in shelving or cataloging

• Discover items that need repair or promotion

• Balance (fair and honest)

Excuses

• I have the largest collection…• The LMS before me never weeded…• If I throw it away, someone will need

it…• We need it to meet the accreditation

standards…• If I got rid of everything that needed

to go, I wouldn’t have anything left…

Excuses

• My principal won’t let me…• People would think I’m wasting

money…• If I throw it away, someone will need

it…• I’m not an expert in “that” topic…• I don’t have time…• We don’t have money to replace

what we weed…

Excuses

• I might make a mistake…• I might throw away something really

valuable….• My collection is brand new…• Weeding will show I’ve made

mistakes in purchasing…• I don’t know where to start….• I don’t know how…

Obvious Weeds

• Items that haven’t been circulated• Items that have circulated too much• Titles that don’t fit the curriculum or

current areas of interest• Outdated info, images, formats• Stereotypes• Better info available in other formats• Multiple copies are available• Worn, damaged, ugly, moldy, smelly, etc.

Weed with Caution

• Materials with local interest or history

• Works of historical significance: classics, award winners

• Expensive titles• Special titles for cooperatives• Titles listed in current selection tools

Favorite Trick

• Search titles by keywords and, if possible, dates:– Modern– Today– Contemporary– Current– New

America Votes: Things You Should Know About Elections Today (1976)

Favorite Trick

• Search titles by keywords and, if possible, dates:– Modern– Today– Contemporary– Current– New

Now in Mexico (1947)

Favorite Trick

• Search titles by keywords and, if possible, dates:– Modern– Today– Contemporary– Current– New– Now

Flying Saucers Here and Now (1967)

Favorite Trick

• Search titles by keywords and, if possible, dates:– Modern– Today– Contemporary– Current– New

Today’s Heroes in Sports (1970)

Where I Come From:

• 1987• Early automation projects• Florida’s state union database of

school library media holdings: SUNLINK

• Selection criteria for participation

• http://www.sunlink.ucf.edu

SUNLINK

• http://www.sunlink.ucf.edu• 1,939,230 titles • 2,841 schools (K-12) • 67 districts in the state of Florida• Reading/interest levels• Cataloged educational web sites• Book cover images• Digital images and

streaming video• First K-12 union on

the WWW

Age of Collection Data

• http://www.sunlink.ucf.edu/collection/

• THEN (1987): – 60% of collections were more than 30 years old

• 2003-21% pre-1980 and 51% pre-1990– Average AOC 1983– Fiction/Non-Fiction/Total

• NOW (2007): – Almost 1/2 published in last 10 years– Less than 10% over 30 years old

SUNLINK’s Weed of the Month

• LM_Net Collaboration • Weed a little at a time…• 1997 to 2005• Over 100 topics• Archives @

http://www.sunlink.ucf.edu/weed/

WOM

• Rationale for weeding the topic• Dewey numbers to check• Specific criteria for weeding• Examples of titles to be weeded• Suggestions for titles to be added

– (later changed to tips for replacing titles)

For example: Folktales

• Rationale:– “timeless?”

• Dewey: – 398 and 900s (travel and geography) and 745

(decorative arts) Don’t forget nonprint materials

• Specific thing to look for:– Ethnic, religious, gender bias– Illustrations and eye appeal– Not appropriate to age level– Do not contribute to a positive world view

For example: Folktales• Reconsider:

– African Folktales (filmstrip) - 1970– Arab Folktales - 1986– Complete Book of Indian Craft and Lore - 1954– Modern Greek Folktales - 1965– Stories from Old Russia - 1964– We Always Lie to Strangers: Tall

Tales from the Ozarks - 1951• Tips for replacements:

– Add titles that increase global awareness– Think about countries in the news today– Help students understand other cultures

Favorite Weeding Quotes

“It does not matter how many books you may have, but whether they are good or not.”– Lucius Annaeus Senecca, Roman

Philosopher

Favorite Weeding Quotes

“You can’t teach today’s students with yesterday’s materials and expect them to have success tomorrow.”

– Poster in Teacher Librarian, April 1999

Favorite Weeding Quotes

“Weed. I’m not telling you again.”

– Doug Johnson, Mankato (MN) District School

Favorite Weeding Quotes

“Poorly weeded collections are not the sign of poor budgets, but of poor librarianship. Period.”

– Doug Johnson

Favorite Weeding Quotes

“Git-R-Done!”– Larry the Cable Guy

Your Turn

• Rationale• Dewey or LC

numbers to examine

• Specific criteria or things to consider

• Titles (if access to online catalogs)

• Replacements

• Physical Fitness• 9/11• Careers• Baseball• Cook Books• Diseases• Tobacco, Drug or Alcohol

Education• Libraries & Librarians• Biographies• Jokes

I highly recommend:

• Less is More: A Practical Guide to Weeding School Libraries (ALA Editions, 2006)– ISBN: 0-8389-0919-1

See also:

http://listmixer.com/list?acct_id=554

All links active as of 10/4/07