Skip to main content

Annotated Bibliography: Using the CREW Method to Enhance Public and School Library Collections

By
Boon, B. (2009). Using the CREW Method to Enhance Public and School Library Collections. Journal Of Access Services, 6(3), 324-336. doi: 10.1080/15367960902894179

CREW is a weeding system that was developed by Joseph P Segal in the 1980s. CREW was implemented by different libraries in the 1990s. CREW stands for Continuous Review, Evaluation, and Weeding. It is a process that works to make weeding a continuous and small-scale project in a library rather than a daunting task that is done on occasion.
Weeding is a process of removing books and other materials from circulation in the library. There are a few criteria that would make something eligible for weeding, such as being old or damaged, containing incorrect or outdated information, or a material that does not fit the needs of the library patrons. Before a library starts the weeding process the library should have a plan of action for weeding, and a plan to make it a part of the collections policy, as well as part of the regular workings of the library. Before library employees start weeding they can check the shelves and inventory to make a quick visual check of books or materials that may fit their deselection criteria. They can also see more easily if there is a section of the collection that is in more need of weeding than another.
To be able to weed properly one can use these criteria as a starting point for their weeding task. The third, materials that do not fit the needs of the patrons, will change from library to library, so it is important to understand the needs of the library patrons. It is also best to look at each part of the collection differently. For example, the needs of the children's section, the adult fiction section, and nonfiction sections are all going to be different. Knowing the goals of each section of the collection, as well as the libraries role in the community can be very helpful to make sure that the deselection process is keeping the books and materials that are still useful to the library. While weeding it is important to keep notes on what books need to be trashed, donated, or sent to be recycled.
After weeding it is important to keep weeding as a regular process in the library, as well as making sure to dispose of any weeded books properly. Keeping a well-curated and weeded collection allows patrons to more easily find the books and materials they need and want, as well as making sure that the materials they have access to are in good condition and have current and helpful information contained within them. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Annotated Bibliography- Weeding E-Books

By
Waugh, M., Donlin, M., & Braunstein, S. (2015, Jan 14). Next-generation collection management: a case study of quality control and weeding e-books in an academic library. Collection Management, 40 (1), 17-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/01462679.2014.965864 This paper presents a case study in e-book weeding from Louisiana State University. E-book collection management policies do not exist in over 95% of ARL (Association of Research Libraries) facilities and it is unlikely numbers would be much lower in any library. E-book collections need to be evaluated according to a thoughtfully created policy in order to keep an up to date, useful collection to serve patrons needs. By examining the difficulties and triumphs experienced by other libraries, staff can work to address deficiencies in their facilities.   A major problem will be interacting with vendors since they control collections. It will be important for individual libraries demand better self-service, s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Annotated Bibliography - Weeding With ADDIE: Developing Training for Deselection at an Academic Library

By
O’Neill, J. L. (2016). Weeding with ADDIE: Developing Training for Deselection at an Academic          Library. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 56(2), 108-115. doi:10.31229/osf.io/hym8b California State University Fullerton has been open since 1957. Up until 2014, there had not been a large-scale weeding completed of the materials in Pollak Library. Instructional Design Librarian J. Lindsay O’Neill turned to the design process known as ADDIE to develop a method to train librarians to undergo the task. Summary           Weeding is often a difficult task to perform. Not only is it done less often than most tasks library staff perform, it often comes with the guilt of removing material, the fear of making the wrong call, and the concern from stakeholders about ‘throwing books away.’ Making the task even more difficult is the lack of formal training for librarians on weeding in the field....
Post a Comment
Read more

Interview: New England Libraries: Sylvie

By
New England Libraries Interview questions for weeding: Interview with Sylvie 1. Who is responsible for weeding the collection and how is the collection divided?   Adult collection – Adult Services/reference librarian YA collection – YA Librarian Children’s collection – Children’s librarian Video games – YA Librarian These are the major divisions. There are a few smaller collections that certain staff members who have an interest or expertise in that help the development and weeding. Follow up: Is there anyone who assists in bring books to your attention for consideration? Anyone on staff can recommend a book or item for weeding based on condition, content or other reasons. 2. Is there a set schedule for weeding? We have just developed a weeding schedule and have started implementation. The entire collection is covered over a 12-month period. 3. Do you have a method that you use, like CREW? We have adapted CREW to our collection. So, this is loo...
Post a Comment
Read more