Director’s Thoughts – 12/13/24

I’d have to say one of favorite things about working in a library is selecting new books for the collection. It’s a lot of fun unboxing new books and checking out titles that get automatically added to my TBR list. But, coming in a very close second is the opposite of selecting new books for the collection, it’s getting rid of old, unpopular titles to make room for all those new, shiny books. The process of removing material from the collection is called weeding and most people have never heard of this idea or have any idea of how it’s done. But, today is your lucky day, I’m going to give you a brief behind the scenes look at weeding a library collection.

First things first, I know that for many people the idea of getting rid of books is almost sacrilege. And, I definitely use to feel that way, but when you have limited space and new material, there are only so many things you can do before you have to make room somehow. And I’ll be the first to tell you – it’s not done all willy-nilly. Libraries follow guidelines, procedures, and policy to make sure they keep a well-rounded collection that includes books that their community has interest in while also ensuring that there is equal representation on subject matter where appropriate and that material is also kept up-to-date. Two of the most resourceful tools that we use are the CREW manual and The Weeding Handbook.

Fiction

When weeding a fiction collection, a library make look at usage statistics – how often a specific title is being checked out. But, they also might take into consideration when the book was published or if it’s part of a series. If it’s a popular genre, a library may try highlighting the author or title in a social media post or in a display to boost circulation. But, if your community isn’t really into that particular genre and it’s maybe a lesser known author or title, the book will be a candidate for weeding.

Usage statistics can be pulled from a library’s integrated library system (ILS) or the catalog for the layperson. Statistics are extremely helpful when weeding a collection because it can help libraries find what is working and not working in a collection. The criteria for weeding will vary from library to library depending on space, funding, and population.

We may weed a popular classic, but purchase a new edition with a new cover that may encourage more people to check it out. We also make look to see if other libraries in the area or shared catalog have the same title. There are a number of ways to measure a collection.

Nonfiction

Nonfiction can be a difficult beast to maintain in a catalog. While you may think, “facts don’t change.” In fact, they do. Remember when scientists demoted Pluto to a dwarf planet? Libraries had to comb through their outer space nonfiction books and remove every title that referenced Pluto as a planet. Now think about medical information and how quickly it changes, these books need to be evaluated regularly to ensure that libraries keep the most up-to-date information available to patrons.

And while historical events don’t change, people’s opinion does and new facts may come to light, so it’s often important for libraries to check in on the history section to ensure that a wide-variety of opinion is available to the community.

How Often Is the Library Weeded?

If you’re lucky, your library is being weeded all year long. We have a schedule so that we work through the entire collection every couple of years rotating through fiction, nonfiction, children’s, young adult, large print, media, and more. It’s an ongoing process and just when you complete the process, it’s about time to start again!

What Happens to the Books?

So, once it’s decided that a book is going to be weeded, what happens to it? Again, that depends on the library. If it’s in good condition, books are often sold at used book sales, or donated to organizations who can use them in other areas. I’ve used some books for book page crafts with patrons. You have to check out this adorable hedgehog book folding craft! I’ve done it with both kids and adults and it’s always a good time. And sometimes, books are recycled, especially the ones that have incorrect information. If they are incorrect, or out-of-date it’s perfectly acceptable to discard them. I know, it sounds horrible, but sometimes it’s necessary.

I hope that you learned a little something today about the inner workings of your local library and appreciate the hard work the staff is doing to provide you with a collection that interests and challenges you, providing you with a great mix of books to read for fun and books to learn from!