Weeding Procedures
Every garden, no matter how wonderfully tended, will have weeds! In order for the true beauty of the collection to remain intact, our collection is "weeded" once yearly.
This set of procedures looks for books that are:
M=misleading: factually inaccurate
U=ugly: beyond mending or rebinding
S=superseded by a new edition or a better book on the subject
T=trivial: of no discernible literary or scientific merit or entertainment value
I=irrelevant to the needs and interests of the library’s community
E=elsewhere: nonessential material easily obtainable from another resource
Books that fit the above criteria are removed from the collection, are marked "discard," and released from the building to the district for dispose of. This process must be followed in accordance with CCPS guidelines.
Why weed? Isn't that a waste of resources?
When a book remains in the collection that meets one of the above procedure guidelines, it actually requires more resources than it may be worth. For example, rebinding a book can cost more than buying a replacement copy. Books that are not checked out for considerable amounts of time or are inaccurate are taking up a vital space that can be filled by a new book!
Think of moldy bread - do you keep it on the shelf even though you know it will never be used?
Does this mean you get rid of books that are classics?
No! We have several well-loved books in the collection as old as 1954! Some have held up remarkably well and are still checked out. Weeding looks for books that have become inconsequential to the collection so that they may be replaced by more integral titles.
This set of procedures looks for books that are:
M=misleading: factually inaccurate
U=ugly: beyond mending or rebinding
S=superseded by a new edition or a better book on the subject
T=trivial: of no discernible literary or scientific merit or entertainment value
I=irrelevant to the needs and interests of the library’s community
E=elsewhere: nonessential material easily obtainable from another resource
Books that fit the above criteria are removed from the collection, are marked "discard," and released from the building to the district for dispose of. This process must be followed in accordance with CCPS guidelines.
Why weed? Isn't that a waste of resources?
When a book remains in the collection that meets one of the above procedure guidelines, it actually requires more resources than it may be worth. For example, rebinding a book can cost more than buying a replacement copy. Books that are not checked out for considerable amounts of time or are inaccurate are taking up a vital space that can be filled by a new book!
Think of moldy bread - do you keep it on the shelf even though you know it will never be used?
Does this mean you get rid of books that are classics?
No! We have several well-loved books in the collection as old as 1954! Some have held up remarkably well and are still checked out. Weeding looks for books that have become inconsequential to the collection so that they may be replaced by more integral titles.