Automatic Systematic Hydromatic Weeding

Confessions of a Serial Weeder

CREW Manual—Our Guidelines ublic/tslac/ld/ld/pubs/crew/crewmethod12.p df ublic/tslac/ld/ld/pubs/crew/crewmethod12.p df Continuous Review Evaluation and Weeding Plan for collection development – Weeding = part of collection development, not inferior component, not optional component

Weed According to Collection Plan and Goals and Mission Analyze collection Develop goals Mission – Educational – Pleasure reading=lifelong reading – Highly functional – Not archival – Welcoming and efficient What steps do you need to work on?

CREW Reasons to Weed Save space – Shelves no more than ¾ full – Limited space; limited shelving – Crowding deterrent Save time – Constant shifting of shelves – Dusting of outdated materials – Having to check dates on materials to help patrons – Inventorying of outdated items Appeal – Why students check out a book? Appearance is #1. – If you don’t want to touch it, smell it, read it, why would a kid? – Increase circulation – Declutter book search to speed patrons along Reputation—patrons expect high quality – Reliable – Current – Trustworthy Constantly assessing needs – What do patrons ask for that you don’t have? – What do you have that they no longer ask for? – How did curriculum change? – How did testing change? – What are the state objectives? – How is teaching changing? – How is reading changing? Constant feedback

Weeding for Content--Outdated Frequently changing subjects – All technology – All computer manuals – Handbooks – Manuals – Law – All science – Health and medicine – Even subjects you think don’t change like pets do actually change as scientists explore continually Political changes – Revolutions – Wars – Elections / new leadership – Court cases of note Newsworthiness – Controversial subjects – What’s on the news? – What used to be on the news but no one seems interested in now? Example: cloning Popular culture – Biographies – Fashions – Fads – Entertainment – Sports Media

Weeding for Content Readability / reading level Duplicate copies – Of old state list books – Of series books no longer popular Older editions that are updated or revised—pull old ones Weak writing Outdated slang Unused sets Donated items that do not fit goals and mission Bias – Racist language – Sexist attitudes – Prejudicial in expressions, covers, pictures, etc. Trivial

Weeding for Appearance Shelf wear Too much tape and repair Cover art and design outdated (look at hair, clothes, etc.) Older library bindings with poor quality color, limited number of colors, dirty looking Yellowed paper; brittle Marked / edited Not much white space on page / narrow gutters / tiny print / lack of illustration in nonfiction Pictures – Blurry – Black and white – Too small – Not matching text Stink Foxing

Unique Books Awards – Readability? – Interest? – Appearance? – Circulation Stats? Dusty? Unused? Reclassify? Dewey Class changed? Moving may help circulation. Autographed? Sets? (Keep volumes, not sets?) Local history? Local author? Out of print

MUSTIE M = Misleading (and/or factually inaccurate) U = Ugly (worn and beyond mending or rebinding) S = Superseded (by a truly new edition or by a much better book on the subject) T = Trivial (of no discernible literary or scientific merit; usually of ephemeral interest at some time in the past) I = Irrelevant to the needs and interests of your community E = The material or information may be obtained expeditiously elsewhere through interlibrary loan, reciprocal borrowing, or in electronic format. Copied from CREW Manual

MUSTIE Formulas, pp The first figure refers to the years since the book's latest copyright date (age of material in the book); 2. The second figure refers to the maximum permissible time without usage (in terms of years since its last recorded circulation and assuming that the item has been in the library’s collection for at least that period of time); 3. The third refers to the presence of various negative factors, called MUSTIE factors, which will influence the weeding decision. For example, the formula "8/3/MUSTIE" means: "Consider a book in this class for discard when its latest copyright is more than eight (8) years ago; and/or, when its last circulation or in- house use was more than three (3) years ago; and/or, when it possesses one or more of the MUSTIE factors."

Some Things Don’t Change? History History does! The language of the books may be outdated if facts are not. Classics Are they being read? Do they look good? Is there white space? Is the print large enough? Are they boring, condensed, dumbed down versions? Picture books Are they attractive still? Are they being read? Are they out of print? Is it a teacher’s favorite? Should you replace it? Poetry Is it out of print? Is it popular? Is it quality & out of print? Is it dated?

What to Delegate to the Aide The aide should not decide what to deselect any more than they would decide what to select. That is your responsibility. The aide can assist in pulling titles that meet general criteria such as wear and tear, smell, mold, outdated, etc., but should put them on a book truck for you to evaluate before weeding. Once the determination is made that it will be weeded, you can hand the book over to the aide to remove from the catalog, remove property labels, and prep for pickup by maintenance.

To Give to the Teacher or Not? Can we? – It’s a state list book like a Bluebonnet or Lone Star book and we had four copies and no longer need that many – It’s a set of encyclopedias and you bought a new one – It’s falling apart but the pictures are great and could be used by a teacher Should we? – Do you want to see it back? – Teacher you gave it to moves and new teacher brings it to you – Teachers change classrooms and don’t want to pack it and move it so they leave it and the custodians put it in the library during the summer – You think it was a lost book and you spend time reevaluating whether to add it back into the catalog

Gathering Statistics Titlewise Analysis See separate presentation Primarily useful in weeding for – checking balance of collection – Aged titles Other vendor analyses: Some show suggested titles as replacements by Dewey range Destiny Reports See separate presentation

Scheduling Deliberate Teacher just completed a unit Getting ready to inventory Shelves too full Revolution in a country Pluto not a planet New discovery New studies Ongoing Examining collection for balance, age, & use One range at a time Focused on goals and mission At circulation, examining for condition Walkabout for condition

Decisions, Decisions Sell? Trade? Donate? Recycle? Destroy? Display? Promote? Replace?

We are a school library: meant for use, not for archives!