Like all librarians, I must take time to weed my library collection of outdated, worn, and unpopular titles. However, it tends to be a taboo and touchy subject in the library world. When I tell others, outside the field, what I'm up to, they gasp and whisper, "You dispose of BOOKS?!?! But. . . you're a librarian?" I will sadly shake my head, and spout off research about the benefits of weeding a library collection with an sad attitude of "someone has to do it."
THE TRUTH??? I get a giddy feeling as the pile of books leaving my library gets larger and larger. I feel energized as I clean house, making the library more engaging. I LOVE WEEDING! Kinda like these ladies!
THE TRUTH??? I get a giddy feeling as the pile of books leaving my library gets larger and larger. I feel energized as I clean house, making the library more engaging. I LOVE WEEDING! Kinda like these ladies!
I do have tiny attacks of guilt when I think about the author behind the book that is leaving the literary environment because their hard work will no longer be enjoyed by my patrons. However, overall, I really don't feel bad at all. I think I have more guilt over the fact that I don't feel guilty when I weed books than just weeding the books in the first place. :) I know some will disagree with me, but I believe:
Now, don't go getting the impression that I go to crazy. . . I carefully select titles to weed using circulation, copyright, interest, and readability data and information. I will often move unpopular books to another location to see if that makes a difference. However, if I'm scanning the football books and all but one has been recently checked out.. . it is outta here! This year, I was working in a library that had not been weeded in quite some time. . . so I had a lot of work to do, especially in the nonfiction section.
Students really notice and starting finding gems that were hidden among the junk. Weeding is the fastest way to give your library an update, and it doesn't even cost a penny!
So, I guess I'm writing this post as therapy for the guilt I do not feel. I will hold my high (in the cover of darkness) as I remove boxes of books from the building. I will proudly stand (in an empty room), and say, "I like weeding and I'm not ashamed to admit it."
How do you handle weeding in your school library? Please share in the comments below.
So, I guess I'm writing this post as therapy for the guilt I do not feel. I will hold my high (in the cover of darkness) as I remove boxes of books from the building. I will proudly stand (in an empty room), and say, "I like weeding and I'm not ashamed to admit it."
How do you handle weeding in your school library? Please share in the comments below.