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Review: Weeding Without Worry

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This website is done by the American Libraries Magazine and talks on the importance of weeding for libraries. It starts by speaking on different "weeding horror stories" of patrons seeing library staff throwing books into a dumpster and being outraged, or rare books being thrown out accidentally. Instances like this can give weeding a bad name, and make it harder for both library staff to weed, and patrons to accept the weeding of materials.

The website goes on to explain how to avoid these pitfalls, such as making sure to communicate clearly with library patrons about weeding, and exactly what it is, and why it is needed in libraries, and how it helps the library continue to run well and continue serving the community well. One example they give is from the Milwaukee School of Engineering, where they have a page on their website dedicated to weeding, explaining why it is needed, and encouraging patrons to email or speak to a library staff member in person if they have concerns about specific materials being weeded.  Another suggestion they give is to let the public know that the books are not just being thrown away but potentially reused or recycled as that sits easier with library patrons. The website also gives tips and tricks on how to help to weed, such as weeding based on circulation numbers, how many copies of the book the website has, or how relevant it is to the needs of the community.

This is overall a helpful website for learning to weed and brings up good pointers on how to make weeding an easy and smooth process for both library staff and library patrons. It can be a useful resource for library staff to help them learn to weed their library well so that they do not encounter too many problems with their patrons or the public at large.

https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2016/05/02/library-weeding-without-worry/
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