Annotated Bibliography: Weeding the fiction collection: or Should I dump Peyton Place?

Jacob, Merle (2001) Weeding the fiction collection: or Should I dump Peyton Place?, Reference & User Services Quarterly, 40(3), 234-239.

Choosing which books to weed can be difficult especially in the fiction section as there is no set guidelines or criteria. Merle Jacob, in a speech first given at an ALA conference, presents the challenges and steps most useful for weeding a fiction collection. This article provides a shorten version of the speech outline methods and reasoning for how to make the best choices for your library collection.

Summary

When choosing books for weeding in the fiction area the most important thing to know is your community. Who they are and what they want to read. Jacob suggests using circulation information and interlibrary loan requests. These two areas will tell how often an item is circulated and what patrons are requesting to read. Another important point is that a book sitting on a shelf is taking up valuable space that could be used for a more highly sought out title or eave ease of access to the shelf. If the shelves are too crowded, then patrons and staff have a harder time shelving and finding books. Jacob also suggests learning about book repair; can a book be repaired, or should it just be discarded? Know the difference.

The article is presented in format that is easy to read with headers for each section. The methods for choosing which books should be weeded and which books should be kept are adaptable to any group wishing to start a weeding project. Merle Jacob provides sound reasoning and gives examples of when people are reluctant to weeded books and how to counter those instincts. On a final note the whole process is changeable based in needs and space; Books that are kept once may be discarded later as needs change.