Awful Library Books <--- It's a link!
The first thing that catches my attention when I navigate to Awful Library Books is the wonderfully out of date and kitschy covers.
(Fran gets me )
It’s 246 pages (as of October 5th) of proof of why libraries need to weed. Many of the items are outside submissions and the whole project is curated by Michigan public librarians Mary Kelly and Holly Hibner. This site is… so much fun. Again, people from all over the country submit images of their books in need of deselection. Some of the titles, such as a copy of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl will require repurchase at the discretion of the branch, and others, such as Easy DOS It!, a book about the no longer relevant DOS computer system, or a tacky as all get out Burt Reynolds book (likely not how he wants to be remembered, RIP),
(This?)
(Or THIS?)
are best never to be seen again. Awful Library Books pokes fun at the idea that libraries are outdated by displaying the items that we get rid of to keep our collections current and relevant, two things that some people don’t believe that libraries can be. The items prove the point of weeding. The books are old, falling apart, or startlingly out of date. Others are blatantly offensive, using terms for people that are out of date and derogatory, often in flippant ways that have no place in today’s society. It’s like a weird time capsule. It shows all of these items that judging by the looks of some of them haven’t been disturbed in ages. I could willingly lose hours of my life to this site looking through the items chosen and reading the comments left by other users.
(Yep, that’s me.)
Ms. Kelly and Ms. Hibner don’t only bring us enjoyably dated materials that no longer belong on their resident shelves, but make sure that we have practical discussions as well. Their section called ‘The Practical Librarian’ covers what they call the more serious side of librarianship. In this section, they feature articles on weeding. They cover topics such as not rushing, what do do about staff hoarding, and reconciling weeding with your collection development needs and policies. This would be of use to libraries in the form of micro-training. The articles would be very good resources to refer a staffer to in regards to training. They can read them on their own time, read them multiple times as needed, and have a laugh to keep spirits light. The ladies also keep records of their slideshare presentations from various events and conventions they have attended, covering topics such as staying relevant, professional development, and of course, weeding. The ladies even offer their services and can be booked to do speaking engagements and training in house. This site is both loads of fun and a goldmine of training material should someone decide to use it as such. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to return to giggling over some of these covers…
(Bring on the throwbacks!)
As far as weeding websites go,I'd call this one top notch - 5/5.
ETA Wednesday October 17th, 2018: I found one that I'm going to submit! I was weeding the YA section at work and I found this book, Teenage Confidential.
It's probably newer than the art implies and was likely purchased around the time that the memoir Popular became well, popular.
(Not as Polpular as Galinda tho.)
Yes, vintage and retro styles have made a comeback, but the title is misleading in that it in no way chronicles the American teen so much as it's the 1950's teen. A lot of the advice is out of date and in my opinion mildly dangerous to boot. I can understand the purchasing choice, but it's gotta go.
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