The reason we call it weeding is much like my garden you need to pull those unwanted or unused items to make space for new growth. As librarians we weed our collections to remove outdated, inaccurate information. We weed because as sentimental as we are.... Kids aren't really reading ALL of the Nancy Drew novels. We as librarians are in a position to ensure the collections we offer our students and staff is relevant, multidisciplinary, culturally diverse, and "has something for everyone". That doesn't mean weeding is easy, in fact is some ways it is more stressful than budget season. (or maybe not)
Margaret Portier wrote a piece on her blog entitled "The Six Emotional Stages of Weeding a Teen Fiction Collection" and I feel she really captured the excitement, interest, and trepidation we all feel when weeding our collections. Portier is extremely funny in her posts with the ability to pass on her experiences as a teen librarian with poise, humor, and professional review. As for her six stages, I agree with all of them. Glee, fear, rationality, smug happiness, fear (again), and finally she feels just fine.
What kind of policies do school libraries have for weeding their collections? As a public librarian we weed less than we should, I've seen the science section of my current library and it's a little terrifying. My experience as a public librarian is that many in the profession, I'm looking at the legacy librarians, are still of the mind set that we are the gatekeepers of knowledge, rather than the curators and aggregators of information. Many feel that the number of items in their collection rather than the quality of their collections is more important.
In my former library we underwent a large scale weeding project books were leaving the collections left and right to make space for study tables and seating.
Margaret Portier wrote a piece on her blog entitled "The Six Emotional Stages of Weeding a Teen Fiction Collection" and I feel she really captured the excitement, interest, and trepidation we all feel when weeding our collections. Portier is extremely funny in her posts with the ability to pass on her experiences as a teen librarian with poise, humor, and professional review. As for her six stages, I agree with all of them. Glee, fear, rationality, smug happiness, fear (again), and finally she feels just fine.
What kind of policies do school libraries have for weeding their collections? As a public librarian we weed less than we should, I've seen the science section of my current library and it's a little terrifying. My experience as a public librarian is that many in the profession, I'm looking at the legacy librarians, are still of the mind set that we are the gatekeepers of knowledge, rather than the curators and aggregators of information. Many feel that the number of items in their collection rather than the quality of their collections is more important.
In my former library we underwent a large scale weeding project books were leaving the collections left and right to make space for study tables and seating.
Resources:
Cooper, V., & Spowart, D. (2017, January 11). BOOK DUMPING: Clearing the library shelves. Retrieved May 10, 2017, from https://wotwedid.com/2017/01/11/book-dumping-clearing-the-library-shelves/
The STEAM Librarian on WordPress.com. (2015, November 9). Retrieved May 10, 2017, from https://margaretportier.wordpress.com/
The STEAM Librarian on WordPress.com. (2015, November 9). Retrieved May 10, 2017, from https://margaretportier.wordpress.com/