Weed ’em and reap: The art of weeding to avoid criticism

Tammy Ross

Allen, M. (2010). Weed ’em and reap: The art of weeding to avoid criticism. Library Media Connection, 28(6), 32-33.

Summary

Although my focus this semester has been on public library collection management, I was interested in reading an article about collection management in schools. In this article, Melissa Allen points out that the library is “the largest classroom in the school providing service to every student and every teacher in all curricular areas” (p. 32). She compares weeding the library collection to weeding a garden. Just as flowers can’t flourish when surrounded by weeds, students can become overwhelmed by outdated information or overcrowding on library shelves. As a result, their ability to efficiently locate quality resources is hindered. Allen reminds the reader that school curriculum is frequently revised; therefore, the library collection should also be in “a continuous state of change” (p. 32). Weeding should not be a project taken on every 10 years; rather, it should be an ongoing process that sees librarians weeding small sections at a time throughout the year. Allen identifies four main reasons for weeding: 1) space constraints, 2) creating an uncluttered library helps patrons find what they’re looking for more easily, 3) patrons want attractive, clean books in good condition, and 4) collections not weeded often can “contain unacceptable stereotypes and misinformation” (p. 32). Allen created the acronym MUSTY as the criteria for weeding:

M: Misleading/inaccurate
U: Ugly or worn beyond mending/rebinding
S: Superseded by newer edition or better book
T: Trivial with no real value
Y: Your collection has no use for this material; it’s irrelevant to the needs of users

Allen urges librarians to examine career materials, computer/technology instruction books, encyclopedias, atlases, and reference books (which become outdated every five years) and any other titles that imply currency but are older than seven years. Any of these items that heavily circulate will need to be replaced (p. 33)

To avoid criticism that sometimes comes when a library throws away what others deem to be “perfectly good books,” Allen provides creative suggestions for what to do with weeded books. After they’ve been deleted from the library’s catalog, they can be cut up and used for class projects; turned into scrapbooks, jewelry boxes or memory books; or donated to organizations that sell donated books for charity or ship them to less fortunate countries.

Evaluation

I liked that this article addresses ways to combat criticism. I am someone who frequently weeds clothes from my wardrobe that I no longer wear or that have become worn or faded. I bag them up to give my mother for the church thrift store, and when she goes through them she sometimes questions why I am giving away a perfectly good sweater or pair of pants. Now I tell her up front that anything in there is worn or no longer fits and she’s less likely to raise an eyebrow. Allen suggests a similar proactive approach in that libraries should publish their mission statement, selection and weeding policies, collection stats (such as average age and number of resources per students), and any other information that can stress the positives of weeding.

Enabling Inquiry Learning in Fixed Schedule Libraries

Christina Young

Stubeck, C.J.(2015). Enabling inquiry learning in fixed-schedule libraries. Knowledge quest, 43(3), 28-34. 

Summary: In the article “Enabling Inquiry in Fixed-Schedule Libraries: An Evidenced-Based Approach”  Carole J. Stubeck describes her frustration with her fixed schedule as she tries to implement a guided inquiry model. Her first year in her district she attempted a guided inquiry project during her fifth-graders’ weekly library special. She describes it as successful, but found it took five months to finish. In collaboration with a fifth-grade teacher and a district curriculum specialist she developed a Civil War unit and then adopted an “action research” plan which involved an adult cycle of reflection, action, observation, and reflection as they taught and assessed the unit. 

Students accessed information through something they called “3-D Library Learning”, an online learning environment that they set up using Edmodo. Students accessed the library for their Civil War unit not only during their fixed library time but also virtually in their social studies classes through the resources she had added to the Edmodo site . They kicked off the unit by borrowing Civil War resources from a local museum and conducting a museum walk in the library.  Students blogged and chose topics that were relevant to them. Technology and collaboration helped overcome the obstacles of the fixed schedule.

Evaluation: My two biggest takeaways from this article are 1) the action research that the adults used to constantly reflect upon their own practices during the unit and 2) the use of technology to help overcome not only the barrier of the fixed schedule for students but also the barrier of lack of common planning time for the adults involved in the project.

Print Collections Management in the Wake of Digitization

Richers, Katherine

Sammonds, L. I., & Housewright, R. (2011). Print collections management in the wake of digitization. The Serials Librarian, 61(2), 193-195. doi:10.1080/0361526X.2011.591039

 

Summary:

ITHAKA S+R conducts surveys about scholarly publishing with faculty from American four-year universities. They have been doing so since the year 2000. Sample population is 3,000 respondents from different disciplines, age groups and experience levels. While more and more faculty are becoming comfortable with using electronic resources over print, not many faculty members are comfortable with replacing entire print collections in campus libraries with electronically accessible resources. It is suggested that this reluctance may be to the perceived stability of print collections. Out of five functions of an academic library suggested in the survey, the gateway function isn’t considered as vital as it used to be. Besides the survey, a framework for collection weeding (What to Withdraw framework) was also presented to the same population. In both cases (the survey and the framework) the researcher suggested that collection weeding and expanding electronic collections should also be based on what the community the library serves wants. In terms of weeding, the researcher from ITHAKA S+R noted that libraries often need to keep print materials to meet preservation goals. If libraries work together then they can tackle weeding choices more effectively.

 Evaluation:

This article is short but raises some interesting questions about collection weeding and the emotions associated with it. I found the part about print collections giving the impression of stability interesting.  Considering the amount of debate over internet censorship and how we as information professionals are supposed to help our patrons find what they need, how dependable are electronic sources? These sources cost money (for instance, database subscriptions) and poor infrastructure may not permit electronic access. I come from a low-income to middle class community and not everyone has consistent, good quality web access.  I think both print and electronic materials should be kept in a collection.

 

Literacy and Media Centers

Christina Young

Harland, M. A. (2018). Literacy and media centers: School libraries. In S. Hirsh (Ed.), Information services today: An introduction (2nd ed.) (pp. 71-80). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.

Summary- Harland’s article, also a chapter in Information Services Today, is an overview of current public school librarianship and a preview of what is to come. According to Harland, school librarians are first and foremost teachers, but also experts in “informational literacy, basic literacy, and technological literacy”. In addition to maintaining and managing our collections we must be curriculum generalists, have a working knowledge of state and national standards, and model lifelong learning. Harland discusses the importance of inquiry-based education and describes three popular models of inquiry-based education: problem-based, project-based, and guided inquiry. She also reviews the three types of schedules a school librarian may face: fixed, flexible, and mixed. 

Evaluation - This article is a helpful overview of trends in public school education and how the school librarian can best support learning in his or her school. Inquiry-based education provides a wealth of opportunities for librarians.  It seems like the field of school librarianship is in the midst of a sea change. Helping students develop digital literacy skills and facilitating inquiry-based learning are now, according to Harland, at the heart of the job. Coming from a teaching background this is pretty exciting to me. 

Crying Over Spilled Milk

Mercado, Crystal

Dickenson, G. (2005). Crying over spilled milk. Retrieved from
    https://www.scribd.com/document/221220527/Dickinson-Crying-Over- Spilled-Milk-1

In this article, Dickenson explains why weeding the collection in the library on a regular basis rather than on a seasonal or annual basis is a necessity. She also gives pointers and tips to Library Specialists that may be hesitant to begin the process.

Unless the library has established a routine for regularly scheduled weeding, it can be a daunting task. When I started in the library, I instructed the staff and students to weed out any fiction books that fell under the MUSTY and CREW idea. Over the last school year, we weeded over 1,000 fiction books. In true fashion for librarians that are afraid of "backlash from the community," the board was questioning why I discarded so many books. Dickenson's article gives good reasons as to why weeding is not only a necessity but the responsibility of the library to keep updated, useful information on the shelves for patron use. She compares weeding to spoiled milk in the fridge.

Crash Course in Collection Development, chapters 11-12: Collection Maintenance; Mending and Preserving

Riggs, Michelle

Disher, W. T. (2014). Crash course in collection development (2nd ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited. P. 86-106.

In Chapter 11, Collection Maintenance, Disher discusses the importance of reviewing our collections on a continual basis: patrons become overwhelmed when faced with stuffed shelves; there is no room for new materials, and research shows that weeding actually improves circulation. Disher addresses the common misconceptions many librarians hold about weeding, including concerns with taking time, making judgment calls, harming the collection, needing the materials later, disposing of something of value, and the general feeling that it is wrong to throw away books. He then provides recommendations for beginning the weeding process, including reviewing the collection development policy, collection analysis, and community analysis, and then making a plan, scheduling time, and monitoring progress. He reviews criteria for weeding, and the options of discard, reorder, mend, or enhance.

In Chapter 12, Mending and Preserving, Disher reviews common misconceptions that mending is cheaper or faster than replacing, and that old equals valuable. He explains the damage that can occur to a book’s binding, spine, and paper and whether it is worth mending. He then explores various sources of damage and how they may be prevented, including damage from light, tears/folds, photocopying, water, and food/drink. Finally, he provides a list of online resources for book repair and preservation.

I focused on these chapters because my library has an aged collection that needs attention, and it is often difficult to feel confident when making collection maintenance decisions. The information is easily understood and valuable to help justify decisions made about library materials. One thing that had not occurred to me is that the wall of windows located next to our picture book section is likely doing significant harm, and those blinds should be aimed upwards to direct the light off the books.

Geographic information systems: tools for displaying in-library use data

Riggs, Michelle



Mandel, L. H. (2010, March). Geographic information systems: tools for displaying in-library use data. Information Technology and Libraries, 29(1), 47+. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A219899076/PROF?u=pott50179&sid=PROF&xid=ddd226bd


Mandel examines the benefit of using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to graphically represent the use of physical space in a library to justify funding and the overall value of the library. He recommends creating a map of the library and then using the “seating sweeps” method throughout the day to record how and when various locations are being used (socialization, reading, research, etc.) This data can then be represented graphically, which aides clarity and understanding. The data can also be used for targeted marketing of library services and materials by determining the most highly-trafficked areas of the library and placing marketing tools (signage, displays, etc.) there.


I found this article to be thought-provoking. Most libraries use circulation statistics, sign-in data, and program attendance as means of library-use data collection; however, it never would have occurred to me to track use of the physical space itself. This absolutely has value as a means of proving the value of various library resources and as a justification for funding needs. Presenting the data graphically is an excellent and effective idea, as in my experience, administrators never have time (or desire?) to read detailed reports. If they can look at a graphic and get the information quickly, it has the capability to have a far greater effect.