JUST WEED IT Brenda Hemmelman, Collection Services Librarian, SD State Library Brenda.Hemmelman@state.sd.us

Would you want to check these out? Would your patrons?

Let’s go from this: To this:

Deselection of library materials (weeding) is a core library function… In other words, it’s part of your job and shouldn’t be neglected.

Why weed? shelf space – weeding makes shelves easier to browse, easier to shelve books, and it just makes the collection look better get rid of outdated materials – your library is not a museum…you can’t be a warehouse of unused books collection development – a great way to get a handle on what is in your collection and what else needs to be there Source: http://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=5346510&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 Other reasons?

Think about it… If you weed a little at a time (every month/every other month), you won’t be withdrawing huge amounts of books at once. Patrons won’t see the dumpster full, and mayhem (and letters to the editor) will be averted.

Weeding Guidelines http://library.sd.gov/LIB/DEV/training/institute/2012/files/BUSHING-WeedingGuidelines.pdf Use Patterns Physical Condition Age Reliability Language Duplicates No longer appropriate Mistakes Use the SDSL website for further weeding criteria – mention CREW method (continuous review, evaluation, weeding) , MUSTIE acronym (misleading, ugly, superseded, trivial, irrelevant, available elsewhere) Evaluation- director, staff member, volunteer, library board, person in charge of collection

Ask yourself: How does it look? Weed on condition first. Has it circulated in 5-10 years? How many duplicates do you really need after the popularity has worn off? Is it outdated? (medical, science…) For a good chuckle: ALB = http://awfullibrarybooks.net/ Use your ILS software to run reports.

Weeding critieria Historical or Out of Print: Fix or toss? Availability: Can it be replaced? What if only part of a set circulates? What do you do with all of these discards? What about eBooks? Fix or toss- when to send to the bindery Why would you keep an old edition? Availability- do other libraries have it? What to do with deselected materials- Better World Books, Friends Sale, what else could you do?

The CREW Method https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/pubs/crew/index.html *a weeding manual for modern libraries Continuous Review Evaluation Weeding

The MUSTIE Guidelines M = Misleading U = Ugly S = Superseded T = Trivial I = Irrelevant E = may be obtained Elsewhere (ILL) Within CREW, there is this.

Again… Use reports from the library ILS system if you have one Weed on looks alone – rips, smells, stains…who wants to check that out…ick! Still not sure? Ask others for opinions. What else?

Some good online resources: http://olcsmalllibraries.wordpress.com/2009/05/04/weeding-library-collections/ - specific ideas for specific collections (children’s, YA, magazines, etc) https://www.azlibrary.gov/libdev/continuing-education/cdt/weeding - from Arizona State Library

What to do with those weeded books. Sell. Donate. Trade. Recycle What to do with those weeded books? *Sell * Donate * Trade * Recycle * Destroy * Get Creative http://www.betterworldbooks.com/go/libraries http://www.cash4books.net/ http://bookmooch.com/ http://pinterest.com/librarysd/book-art/ Do a search on Pinterest for “weeded books” or “book art” What other suggestions do you have?

Collection maintenance (weeding) policy Don’t have one? Write one first thing on Monday! It is imperative that you have a collection maintenance/management policy and procedures in place. What does it look like? http://www.cityofbrookings.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/40 - see page 29 – this one actually says, “at least 25% of the collection will be reviewed for weeding each year” http://www.freemanlibrary.org/collection-development.html - see number 7 http://siouxlandlib.org/about-us/library-policies/library-policies/collection-policy - see Deselection Policies section http://www.watertownsd.us/index.aspx?nid=327

“If your library contains shelves of useless books that are of no interest or use to your patrons, why not just put up wallpaper with a book pattern on it? Chances are it would look better and it would be no less useful than what you already have. The best way to avoid this problem is to weed continually.” From http://olcsmalllibraries.wordpress.com/2009/05/04/weeding-library-collections/

Questions? Thank you! Brenda.Hemmelman@state.sd.us