Collection Management for Libraries

Rix, W. (2009). Reference Collections and Staff: Retaining Relevance. Reference Librarian , 50(3), 302–305. https://doi-org.proxy-clarion.klnpa.org/10.1080/02763870902947109 Wright Rix, a Reference Librarian for Santa Monica Public Library, describes the advantages and reasoning for downsizing a print Reference collection. As information is sought online more and more changing a library’s focus to digitized media not only helps to provide quick online answers for patrons, a reduction in the print collection allows for expansion from other more popular sections such as audio visual and other print selections. Summary Rix provides an overview of what reducing a print collection means. Over time patrons are more likely to seek information online and are less likely to seek information in the reference area or even spend much time sitting down for research. By selecting electronic resources and digitizing historical records and other such material the floor space in the libra...

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...

Calvert, Philip (2018) No more late night dumpster runs – recycle and upcycle unwanted library books, Public Library Quarterly , 37(2), 222-228. DOI:10.1080/01616846.2018.1465789 Philip Calvert, a recent recipient of a Fellowship from the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA), presents a discussion on what libraries do with unwanted books. He specifies unwanted verses weeded to include unwanted donated material in addition to discarded material. Calvert discusses various libraries and programs that include selling and upcycling books rather than simply throwing out books. Summary After deciding what books to remove from circulation librarians then must figure out where to discard those books. Rather than throwing books into a dumpster or recycling bin. A major alternative avenue is to sell books. There are many ways to do this there are companies that will resell books like TradeMe or Better World Books. TradeMe is an online auction site t...

Cully, J. (2015). I Feel the Need, the Need to Weed! : Maintaining an E-book Collection.   Southeaster Librarian ,  63 (1), 2-5. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy-clarion.klnpa.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=b6ae90a0-6831-483b-ad9a-0d90b30cb180%40sessionmgr4009&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=102913000&db=lls Weeding is a fundamental part of maintaining a library collection, though it is often thought to be a task for the physical collection only, and the electronic collection can be overlooked in the weeding process. However, it is just as important to weed the electronic collection as well as the physical collection. Electronic collections can be easier to maintain, as there are systems that are patron-driven, that is the library only purchases the books after they have been requested by a patron, helping the collection to stay relevant to the community needs. This also helps keep the patrons active in the process of develo...

Arbeeny, P., & Chittenden, L. (2018). An Ugly Weed: Innovative Deselection to Address a Shelf Space Crisis.   Journal Of Library Innovation ,  5 (1). Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy-clarion.klnpa.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=f9804ddd-f21b-47d7-a2c4-431993097c2a%40sdc-v-sessmgr04 In 2012 Fort Lewis College in Durango Colorado was faced with an interesting problem- one month to weed out 3,000 to 4,000 items from their collection, to make room for more study spaces in their library, as well as freeing much-needed shelf space.  This problem was made harder due to the departure of two staff members right before this project was to begin. The library was now down to four total staff members, making the already daunting prospect even harder. The staff created a fast weeding process, with the whole collection in a spreadsheet, making use of keyword filtering, as well as filtering out books that had not been checked out since 2003, the o...

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 p...

Feeney, M., Elliott, C., & Jenkins, J. (2015, May 7). Up from the depths: return of the 16 mm film, or how to weed your film collection. Collection Management, 40 (2), 67-82. https://doi.org/10.1080/01462679.2015.1009963 A danger of deselection is an assumption that outdated media formats are worthless. Most librarians are familiar with books, but AV materials, especially unused, dusty old film canisters, are out of their purview and comfort zone. Regardless, these items need to be given due consideration and inviting expert faculty for assistance is a good move. There may be one-of-a kind treasure to be found, that even if not within the scope of a library’s collection, could be of great value to another institution. Undertaking a project like this will take up time and resources, but it can be done. Summary: Most AV collections that belong to libraries began to develop around the 1960s with education films, later transitioning to videotapes and DVD...

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...

Ehret Snyder, C. (2013, Dec 20). Data-driven deselection: multiple point data using a decision support tool in an academic library. Collection Management, 39 , 11-31. https://doi.org/10.1080/01462679.2013.866607 Weeding is a time-consuming and sensitive task for librarians. It is necessary to make space for new material, keep information current and updated, and remove items in poor condition. Librarians have to determine what kind of data is necessary to review in order to justify removing an item from the library’s shelves. Tools exist to help librarians gather multiple points of data to make the process more efficient. The librarians at Olin Library, part of Rollins College in Florida, utilized such a tool (Sustainable Collections Services) to help them update their collection and present the findings in this paper. Summary: Librarians are short on time and weeding is one of the most time-consuming tasks they can take on. Criteria is necessary to make...

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....

Way, D., & Garrison, J. (2013). Developing and Implementing a Disapproval Plan: One University         Library’s Experience. College & Research Libraries News, 74(6), 284-287.         doi:10.5860/crln.74.6.8958 Weeding is a task often left undone for many reasons. Among them are time, a lack of codified rules, and the emotions involved with the general anxiety that comes from having to ‘get rid of’ books and other library materials. Michigan’s Grand Valley State University set out to develop a weeding regimen to facilitate the task. Summary In 2013, Grand Valley State University libraries were comprised of a main library, three branches, and an off-site storage facility. During that year a new library was opened, which required all of the materials in the offsite facility to be moved to a new Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS). Due to previous difficulties weeding such a system, and the pote...

McEwen I. (2103). Separating the Wheat From the Chaff A Guide to Weeding. Teacher Librarian,           volume 39 (4), 33-34.       Teacher librarian Ian McEwen describes the two types of teacher weeders. His discussion of the the two types includes how they handle the arduous and often polarizing task that is weeding. McEwen also discusses the reasons we weed and gives tips for making the process easier. Summary     Ian McEwen is a teacher librarian in Canada. He describes that teacher librarians fall into two types of librarian: Type A weeders are confident and efficient. They don’t second guess their decisions and get rid of material that has run its course without remorse. Type B weeders agonize over their choices, worried that their choices are the wrong ones and often come up with a reason why an item should be saved. McEwen chronicles a conversation with a student whose school library book fell...