Weeding Guide!

Tracy, Anna

INFO 266, Fall 2016

This book is literally a shelf by shelf guide to weeding. It breaks it down by sections within Dewey and even has chapters specific to Youth collections as well as problems in weeding with potential issues. What I particularly loved in reading this title is its constant reference to how hard it can be to get rid of different materials for different people. There is so much subjectivity in Collection Development. I relate to the authors self-proclaimed love of weeding.

“Library is an ever changing organism” as so should the collection be.

My boss bought me this book as a helpful guide to a task I have jumped into with literally no training what so ever. I am thankful to have Edelweiss to help me construct weeding lists for materials that are not circulating, and to generally enforce our weeding policies. However, there is an art to collection development and as mentioned in one of my other blog posts, it is good to be informed by science, while still keeping the finesse of personal touch.

I found this book to be particularly helpful within specific sections of Dewey in order to evaluate the importance of prioritizing want versus need. It helped me to feel my decisions were more informed and not just gut instincts, though I was happy to find that my gut is fairly scientifically accurate.

Vnuk, R. (n.d.). The weeding handbook: A shelf-by-shelf guide.