1. Weeding for Your Library’s Health An Infopeople Workshop Winter 2006/2007 Francisca Goldsmith, Instructor frg1@ci.berkeley.ca.us

2. Agenda 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

3. Introductions Name and library role Library type Collection responsibilities

4. What’s Your Weeding Worry? Making a (big) mistake Being misunderstood Having “too little” left Lacking human power to undertake

5. 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

6. 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

7. What Causes the Need to Weed? Material’s condition Outdated and inaccurate information Unnecessary redundancy Crowded conditions

8. 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

9. Datedness Old information can be –Interesting –Useful to some pursuits –Inaccurate –Dangerous –Prejudicial to remainder of collection

10. Redundancy How many copies are enough? How close is a library where the material is in scope?

11. 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

12. Access Is Essential Shelving space Browsing space Clearing paths through the collection

13. MUSTIE Misleading information Ugly appearance due to –wear or –outdated design Superseded by newer materials Trivial worth to users Irrelevant to collection’s scope Elsewhere would be a better place to find this

14. Using MUSTIE (MUSTY) Assess some material you didn’t examine in Exercise #1. Use the California Department of Education MUSTY handout as a guide.

15. What Is a Weeding Plan? Local procedures Tied to available resources Practical, not ideal Thorough and balanced Informed by quantitative measures Connected to collection development policies

16. 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

17. 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?

18. Weeding for Relocation 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?

19. 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

20. Essential Tools Knowledge of subcollection Circulation trends Current community profile Standard bibliographies

21. Weeding Steps Identify inappropriate material Triage for replacement, mending, total removal Remove records from database Dispose of material suitably

22. Weeding Methods CREW Weed of the Month Circulation point Standing orders Annual inventory

23. CREW Continuous Review –Circulation/use records –Local interests/needs Evaluation –Condition –Relevancy Weeding –Timely –Steady pace

24. 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

25. Tools to Take to the Shelf Circulation/use data printout Paper slips for individual item notes Subject bibliography Book truck Stool for seating, climbing

26. SUNLINK’s Weed of the Month Topical focus –Reason to weed the topic –Suggested Dewey numbers to check –Specific weeding criteria

27. Collections with Special Needs Reference material Audiovisual formats Young adult/teen collections Children’s collections Journals

28. Extra Help for Special Concerns Consumer health advice Community redistribution plans Trading posts for backfiles

29. Weeding at Circulation Spot check materials going out Evaluate condition upon return –Binding? –Loose pages? –Missing parts? Handle with care

30. Standing Orders Weed superseded editions –Laws change –Directory listings become inaccurate State the threshold of tolerance –Travel books –Exam materials

31. Regular Inventory Standing order plans Sets with missing parts Grant-funded expansions

32. Budgeting for Weeding Time Replacement costs Repair costs Space for work flow

33. Whose Time? Collection development staff Support staff ILS managers …and don’t forget –Janitorial/maintenance staff – Volunteers

34. Triaging Weeding Candidates Enrichment and replacement budgets In house repair costs Professional bindery costs Existing electronic availability

35. Appropriate Disposal of Weeded Materials California state law Ethical considerations Fund raising alternatives Maintaining records

36. When to Replace? Material continues to be –Intellectually sound –Pertinent to the community –Not superseded by other material in collection

37. 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

38. 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?

39. 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

40. Who Needs Weeding Information? Support staff Library board/commissioners Teachers Public Local media

41. Communicating the Plan Collection development policy Stakeholder input Staff training Published and available Library’s users Absolutely everyone

42. “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

43. Other Words for Weeding Collection maintenance Reselection Pruning Editing Culling

44. In Emergency Situations Clarify –Scope of related weeding need –Likelihood for recurrence Direct –Weeding procedures –PR Update –Library’s users –Staff

45. The Message Matters Who? How? Why? Professional staff Deliberation Stewardship

46. Allies Support staff –Informed and trained –Designated role in process Friends groups –Beneficiaries –Assistants Faculty –Input –Institutional awareness

47. Next Steps Postcard check-in (30 days) Unfinished business Evaluation