Interview With a Librarian - Librarian P
As I head up the steps to the University library, the scene is picturesque. Leaves are swirling, there's a chill in the air, it's the perfect sort of day to visit an old library. The steps leading up the building swirl in that grand southern lady fashion reminiscent of Gone With the Wind. I head for the lower door because I see a key card entry on the upper door and I don't have that. Inside things look way more modern. I decide to head upstairs when I see only what looks like students studying in cozy lounge. Upstairs is more bare and less cozy. It looks like a house that is in the process of moving. A woman sees my confused face and asks how she can help me. I tell her that I'm looking for Librarian P.
"You must be Jillian." I nod. She happily introduces herself as Librarian P and beckons me down a hallway. We enter her office and she apologizes for the current state as she clears a chair to offer me. The library is renovating and currently weeding, hence what seems like stray books all over her office.
“How long have you been a librarian?" She's been a librarian for over ten years with the school and this is her fifth as the library director.
“How did you get started in Collection Development?” Librarian P has been having to choose what books to order for the library almost as long as she's been on the Reference floor. It began as a result of not having enough staff and she managed to fill a need while accomplishing her other duties. Once she was promoted to library director, it was only natural that Collection Development was a part of that.
“How often does the system weed?” She tells me that the library opened in the 1930s and that there hasn't been a weed in all of that time. I'm in awe.
"Really?" She tells me that there was one attempt some unnamed number of years ago, but the endeavor was abandoned. All it accomplished was pulling some duplicates. Librarian P tells me that the library is currently undergoing renovation. During Phase I earlier this year, 15,000 items were weeded and an additional 20,000 are in the process.
“What does your Collection Development Policy say regarding weeding?” She sends me a link of the renovation plan, located here.
“What are some of the criteria you use?” Currently, anything pre-1970 will be pushed down. The reason for this being that the library owns 90,000 books published in that time frame. Circulation statistics and OCLC holdings also play a factor. She also states that the condition of the books, and whether or not they are accessible else where helps to determine if an item stays. The school isn't public, so it's not required that they check with the University of Georgia Library in Athens to ensure that a copy goes there for preservation. They also have open library deals in place with some of the area private and technical universities that allow the students of the various institutions access to all of their materials which allows for items held elsewhere to be removed. Rare books are the exception. Anything valued above $500.00 stays. The idea is two-fold: in getting rid of all of the old material, there will be more space made available for students to study following the renovation, and it allows Librarian P to work of diversifying the collection as it is currently mostly made up of 'dead white guys.'
Journals of course went en masse. In most fields, anything beyond ten years of publication is considered outdated. Much of the classic, older work is also available via the many databases the school has access to, allowing for periodicals to be retrieved online.
“Does the branch/system use a particular method or system?” CREW (of course) and Best Practices. In 2016, a Wine and Cheese event became part of the weeding process. Faculty were invited to come in and make suggestions for items to 'push down.'
Another Wine and Cheese event will occur soon but because of the imminent need for space, faculty will only be allowed to comment on the pre-selected books regarding whether they stay or go.
As of October 18, 2018, the project is almost complete with a final projected end of November 9, 2018. She goes on to tell me that they began in June and I cannot believe it. It's just so much to get done in under four months...
“Does the community ever comment on weeding?” People don't often comment on weeding because they don't usually see it, but Librarian P mentioned one incident where periodicals were being thrown out a window into a dumpster directly below. Both easy and cathartic. However, some older ladies who use the campus grounds for their daily walks were aghast. Once staff realized that they'd been seen, calls were quickly made to Public Services and PR so that if questions arose folks would know that the library wasn't simply chucking books out of a window.
“I’ve read in an article that there are two types of weeders: Type A weeders who get rid of materials with confidence and no remorse, and Type B weeders who agonize over each decision and second guess everything. Which type do you see yourself as?” She tells me that she's a little Type A and a Little Type B. The last attempted weed had so many items that it caused a panic attack. Of the 90,000 books published before 1970 that she'd previously mentioned, 66% of them hadn't circulated in 20 plus years. It became the 1970 criteria that they are currently using to push down materials. Most of the items that circulate heavily have been published in the past 25 years.
“What’s your worst weeding nightmare?” It's the constant need to balance the collection's past and future needs. There's always that worry that a weeded item will be needed later. I can commiserate; that was my weeding nightmare and as mentioned in my interview with Librarian M, it happened.
“Any advice for reluctant weeders?” She suggests distancing yourself from the materials you're weeding. Fields of study where you have a personal interest are harder.
At this point, Librarian P asks if I'd like to see the weeding project. Yes, of course! She leads me out to the library floor where we'd met and shows me the difference in the carpet color from simply moving all of the shelves that had once used the space. The difference between unseen orange and faded yellow is a story unto itself. She shows me what remains of the circulating collection on the floor before having me follow her upstairs. When we enter the room full of shelves, I gasp,
"It's like a Disney movie..." It's not the compliment that it seems. On every shelf are cracked, brittle spines, faded lettering, and yellowing pages that look like they could belong in an enchanted, dormant, castle. She shows me how some of the titles have stickers on them indicating how many checkouts they've had. She will go back and review those holdings further to ensure that they're not going to be needed. We take a detour through the rare book holdings and head back downstairs to look at the newly renovated first floor and the difference is even more clear. The room has space for comfortable, avant garde couches along with the study carrels. Student work is on display on shelves and on the bulletin board. There is space for graphic design machinery such as the 3-D printers and scanner. They even have a laser. Apropos of nothing, I do get to see the laser. I now want one very badly for my library.
As we wrap up, I tell Librarian P that this was the most fun I could have had in an academic library and wish her the best of luck in completing her weeding project. It sounds well planned, excellently executed, and like a smashing success. She in turn, gives me a souvenir as she shows me to the door.
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