Weed It and Weep Maintaining Your Floating Collection Why must we - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Weed It and Weep Maintaining Your Floating Collection

Why must we do this?? To keep our collection in good ● condition To keep items that people want to read ● -- and get rid of the ones they don’t To get rid of extras when we have too ● many of a particular title (For example, Educated after the author event…)

Why must we do this?? ● To keep dated and/or inaccurate information off our shelves ● TO MAKE ROOM FOR NEW STUFF!!

BUT WHAT ABOUT... ● More is better! ● I can’t throw anything away! ● If I discard this today I will get a request for it tomorrow. ● People will think we are wasting material paid for with tax dollars!

BUT WHAT ABOUT... ● I don’t know how! ● I don’t know where to start! ● I don’t have time! ● I’m just going to get another copy in my next delivery

General criteria for weeding ● Currency of content (nonfiction) ● Condition ● Multiples ● Bias (unless other points of view presented) ● Format (VHS anyone?)

General criteria for weeding ● Superseded by new edition ● Circulation records - THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CRITERIA But I love this book!! ● Check out the item to yourself! ● Need it for storytime collection? Let us withdraw it and we’ll send it back to your ○ branch

WHAT NOT TO Weed! ● Items of local interest (authors, topics) ● Classics/award winners ● Perennial favorites ● Part of a popular series ● Materials that support local school curriculum

WHAT NOT TO Weed! The Tricky ones ● Last copies ● Rough condition, but circulating like crazy When will it end?? ...NEver!

What happens to the items I weed?!? ● Reassigned: DC staff might decide to give the item a second chance at another location. ● Resale: DC staff might decide to send withdrawn materials to Thrift Books for resale, donation or recycling.

How we do it here at NCRL! ● Condition (Moisture, broken spine, torn pages or cover) ● Multiple copies ● New editions ● Weed lists, their creation and use ● Reassigns -- why, how, where

Why did we reassign that old book? ● Because there was a suspended hold on it… ● Because it’s circulating well as a last copy ● Diversity, diversity, diversity ● It’s a classic! ● It’s part of a popular series ● It’s my favorite book

What else…?? ● Assessing DVDs and books on CD for condition ● Endowment purchases ● Publication date or “the age of the book versus the circulation…” ● What’s the deal with a floating collection?

How can DC stafg help you? ● Generate weed lists for problem areas in your collection ● Temporarily stop sending you particular items if that collection/shelving area is full

How can DC stafg help you? ● Send you more items your patrons want, if you have space ● Work with individual branches to help troubleshoot specific issues You can contact us anytime!!

WEED SLIPS What not to do- How to do it- Always include your branch and the reason for the weeds on the transit slip!

The Importance of Weed Slips

WEEDING AIDS ● Less is More: A Practical Guide to Weeding School Library Collections by Donna J Baumback and Linda L Miller ● The Weeding Handbook: A Shelf-by-Shelf Guide by Rebecca Vnuk ● The NCRL Wiki ● CREW:A Weeding Manual for Modern Libraries https://www.tsl.texas.gov/ld/pubs/crew/index.html

WHO YOU GONNA CALL? Betsey Stahler - Collection Development Manager 509-663-1117 ext. 149 bstahler@ncrl.org Chris Monsey - Distribution Technician 509-663-1117 ext. 122 cmonsey@ncrl.org Jessica Adams - Supervisor, Wenatchee Public Library 509-662-5021 ext. 234 jadams@ncrl.org