Crash Course in Weeding Library Collections

Adcock, Chris


Goldsmith, F. (2016). Crash course in weeding library collections (Crash course series (Westport, Conn.)).


Crash course in weeding library collections is divided into 8 chapters with sequential and information-dense titles: Introduction to Weed Identification;  The Weeding Process; Library Staff Weeding Responsibilities; Determining Datedness; Creating a Weeding Plan; Weeding as Library Policy; Communication and Publicity about  Weeding, and Models and Tips for Library Administrators.

The chapter that really drew me in the most as a library student was "Introduction to Weed Identification." I think that this is probably the most difficult part of weeding - how can you tell the weeds from useful resources? This becomes very difficult in collections of more than a thousand records where even when weeds are easily identifiable once encountered there are so many items to consider that they become drowned out. A good way to systematize weed identification is a handy acronym used by Goldsmith called "MUSTIE:"
Misleading (dated)
Ugly (in poor condition)
Suspended (No Longer Current)
Trivial (Poor Quality Content)
Irrelevant (Out of Scope for this Library's Community
Elsewhere (would be a better place for this material, including potentially a different and more suitable collection).

In addition to judging collections buy this criteria, weeding becomes additionally complex when one looks at the relationship of the collections to the community which they serve. An extreme example of this would be an advanced scientific paper search engine in a small rural library. The item might be extremely up to date and useful, but not necessarily for the community it is serving. Weeding should also be made as transparent as possible: library patrons should know that weeding is not done to water down/censor collections or reflect the individual tastes of librarians. It is done to remove irrelevant, damaged or out of date material and increase the findability of higher quality resources.

Practice Makes Perfect: While Collection Development Remains as Much Art as Science, Adopting Best Practices Can Help Selectors Choose What's Right for their Communities

Vigil, Sharon

Mickelsen, A. (2016). Practice makes perfect: While collection development remains as much art as science, adopting best practices can help selectors choose what’s right for their communities. Library Journal, 141(14), 34-37. Retrieved from  http://bi.galegroup.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/essentials/article/GALE%7CA462044787/0cca9aca1e2499431f16987e0a782a23?u=csusj

Summary:

This article discusses best practices for selecting and maintaining print and electronic materials. It touches on selection decisions, budgets and formats, collection analysis tools, donations and self-publishing, and weeding and maintenance. Common challenges that are mentioned include stretching budgets to cover multiple formats and deciding how many copies of a popular item to buy without sacrificing diversity in the collection.

Evaluation:

This article provides some very helpful tips in managing a collection. Librarians must not only be knowledgeable about a particular field or subject area but must also have an understanding of what patrons want while being mindful of the available budget. A few tips to help librarians track books that are newly released, or are about to be released, include signing up for publisher newsletters and the LibraryReads recommendation tool, registering with Edelweiss to access publisher catalogs, and keeping track of authors featured at NPR Books. One librarian that was interviewed emphasized the importance of making sure there is some method in place for accepting requests from patrons in order to know what is missing from the library’s collection. Another librarian suggested getting out of the library and interacting with patrons. In regards to budgets and formats, one recommendation was to allocate more funding to popular subscription services such as Hoopla and OverDrive and, in choosing which streaming services to use, librarians should consider patrons’ ability to access the Internet and technology that is required. This article provides some great advice for collection development librarians or anyone who participates in the collection development process.

Managing Electronic Resources by Ryan O. Weir

 DiBello, Amy 


Weir, R. (2012). Managing electronic resources (LITA Guide). Chicago, Ill.: ALA TechSource.

Ryan O. Weir's textbook Managing Electronic Resources was published in 2012 and predicts the library of 2020. Ebooks will change libraries and outnumber print books. University publishing houses will be making content available through Project Muse/UPCC, JSTOR, and other online platforms. The digital divide will increase in Third World countries and the poor and computer illiterate will rely on public libraries to bridge these disadvantages.

Behind the scenes, how we will work will also change radically. The split between print and electronic materials is impacting technical services departments and since everyone is already understaffed, the problems are only being compounded. Flexibility and skill acquisitions turn every day into another episode of MacGyver.

The libraries of 2020 libraries will revolve around eResources and libraries will have to find new ways to weather economic turmoil. Catalogers will be replaced with metadata specialists and job titles will be rebranded. Reference services as we know them will have to adapt to new user needs.
Distance education will increase as people become accustomed to working and learning remotely.

Special collection libraries and archives will continue to digitize and make collections available online. Consortia will become even more important and open access ventures will give vendors a literal run for their money.

Librarians have to be flexible multi-taskers who can solve problems, be technologically savvy, and able to communicate and negotiate with staff, administrators, and vendors in various contexts. They have to be courageous enough to lead and be diplomatic. They’ll be put in the tricky place of "managing" up their supervisors and stakeholders too. Managing people you supervise will require emotional intelligence, coaching, collaboration, and communication. We will need to abandon traditional hierarchies and work together as peers.

Unexpected Advantages of Virtual Libraries

Vigil, Sharon

Wilson, J., & Bolton, K. (2013). Unexpected advantages of virtual libraries: Staff at two university libraries found that losing their physical collections meant gaining new perspectives on outreach and service. Information Outlook, 17(3), 25-27. Retrieved from http://bi.galegroup.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/essentials/article/GALE%7CA348998026/92e495e7810f6a8445b362c208426367?u=csusj

Summary:

This article describes the challenges and surprisingly positive outcomes that Cornell University librarians faced when transitioning from a physical space to a virtual presence. The Physical Sciences Library (PSL) and the School of Hotel Administration Library got rid of their physical collections and switched to a primarily online presence. The PSL redesigned it webpage to become more dynamic and collaborative by including a feedback forum, social media outlets, and a virtual shelf that contains printed and electronic materials. Transitioning to a virtual presence allowed the PSL to become more collaborative and interactive, which ultimately resulted in increased library outreach efforts. These efforts generated partnerships with other departments and librarians on campus and met user needs in unique ways.

The School of Hotel Administration Library also had favorable results after becoming a virtual library. The library turned the extra space that was available into a social learning space where students can learn better together. Some of the changes included adding group learning spaces, adaptable furniture patterns, increasing digital access to library resources, and providing embedded library staff. Although the patrons missed the book stacks, it was not because they used the books, but rather, they missed the presence of the books.

Evaluation:

This article pointed out that, although transitioning from a traditional library to a virtual library can be difficult, the new opportunities and advantages that resulted were beneficial to library staff and patrons. Virtual libraries are becoming a new way for libraries to foster growth and encourage collaborative learning. As more and more libraries make the transition from physical to virtual learning environments, users will have to adapt accordingly. However, the emotional attachment to the book stacks and traditional library will undoubtedly always be there.

Newark Public Library will obtain Philip Roth's book collection

Leala Arnold

King, N. (2015) Is author Philip Roth’s book collection what the Newark Public Library needs?

NPR News. Retrieved from: http://wypr.org/post/author-philip-roths-book-collection-what-newark-public-library-needs

This is an interview discussing the donation of Roth’s collection of books to the Newark Public Library after his death.  The board hopes that the collection will make the library a “literary destination”.

I think it's a good idea to add and focus on a collection that can possibly bring in more people into the library, and may also lead to more grant possibilities in the future.

Digital Weeding

Weeding. [Fine Art]. Retrieved from Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. 

https://quest.eb.com/search/163_2961979/1/163_2961979/cite

DiBello, Amy

Moroni, A.E. (2012).WEEDING IN A DIGITAL AGE. Library Journal, 137(15), 26-28

Permalink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=80445399&site=eds-live

Ebooks may not require shelf space, but librarians are not exempt from weeding their digital collections. Alene Moroni's article about weeding in a digital age encourages librarians to retain useful materials, strive to keep the most accurate information, and consider whether or not what they keep is meaningful to patrons.

Removing an ebook from a collection requires several steps, such as contacting a vendor and manually removing the bibliographic record from the catalog. Collection maintenance tools can reveal which titles are in demand and as platforms become more sophisticated, developers are proving themselves to be receptive to librarians' needs for collection management tools.

Building and Managing E-book Collections: A How-To-Do-It Manual For Librarians by Richard Kaplan

DiBello, Amy 

Kaplan, R. (2012). Building and managing e-book collections: A how-to-do-it manual for librarians (A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians). Chicago, Ill.: Neal-Schuman.

This one goes out to all the library paraprofessionals who felt like they were thrown into the deep end of helping library patrons with their eReaders. Until this class, I didn't give much thought to the history of eBooks or how to build or manage an eBook collection. However, Richard Kaplan's book Building and Managing E-Book Collections: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians (which is part of our additional recommended reading) is a real treat. 

I had no idea about the complexities of digital license agreements, purchasing options, and how to coordinate print and digital titles while abiding by a budget. As a library patron, I enjoy books returning themselves and being able to download and read whatever I want from the comfort of my home. But the flip side for librarians is keeping up with high maintenance conditions of user agreements, selecting the best ebook platform, and negotiating with publishers.

This books addresses various scenarios about maintaining digital collections and staying in touch with patron wishes. Kaplan includes the experiences of librarians working in academic, public, and medical librarians to show why they made specific choices to sacrifice shelving spaces, participate in pilot programs, and lend out devices to patrons.