Weeding Without Worry

Nguyen, Marian

Vnuk, R. (2016). Weeding without worry. American Libraries, 47(5), 50-53. Retrieved from https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2016/05/02/library-weeding-without-worry/

Descriptive Summary:

In recent years there have been news stories and articles about members of the community being upset at the library’s weeding process, especially when they discover library books being tossed into the dumpster. All these negative press can hurt a library’s reputation as well as give library weeding a bad name. From her own weeding experiences, Vnuk offers advice on how to properly and successfully weed library materials without raising any issues or concerns from both staff members and the public.

When it comes to weeding, Vnuk writes that communication and transparency are the keys to easing the public to the weeding process. If the library is planning a large weeding project, the director should release a statement about it on the library’s website, newsletter, or local press in order to inform the public about the weeding before hand and to avoid any potential bad press. The statement should explain the reason for the weeding, how it works, as well as how it would affect patrons. The statement should also explain how weeding isn’t about getting rid of books, but about refreshing the library’s collection with new materials and new copies of the same titles. If it is an ongoing weeding project, Vnuk writes that no formal announcement need to be made; however, staff should be prepared to answer any questions about it from patrons. Vnuk adds that libraries should inform the public that library materials that are weeded will be reused or recycled, in order to relieve the public’s concern of books being tossed into the dumpster. If a material does need to be tossed, then Vnuk advise that the library director make a statement about what types of materials are to be tossed, such as outdated text or damaged books. Additionally, Vnuk uses the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) as an example of a library’s transparency in their weeding process, since the MSOE has a page on their website explaining their weeding process and how a patron could advocate for a book to not be weeded.

Evaluation:

I agree with Vnuk’s advice that libraries should communicate with their patrons and be transparent about the weeding process. Weeding can be a very hot topic issue with book lovers and patrons as they can get upset that books are being weeded from the library. In order to alleviate concerns over the weeding process, I think it is important that the library informs patrons about the weeding process so that patrons can get a better understanding about the process and why weeding may be necessary. Communication and transparency is also important for libraries as well so that they can avoid any bad press that may occur during the weeding process. No library wants to be caught in a PR nightmare and lose the trust of their patrons. By following Vnuk's advice it can make the weeding process less stressful and let libraries take the neccessary steps needed to help their collection continue to grow.