Weeding 101
Dr. Donna Baumbach
University 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• Outdated info, images, formats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