Weeding the Collection
One of the responsibilities of the Elementary Library is to assure the quality, quantity and organization of the collection. That includes also the professional responsibility for removing from the collection the materials that are no longer appropriate or supportive of the curriculum.In the same way as materials and the existing collection are systematically evaluated for selection purposes, evaluation and examination must occur before materials are removed from the collection. Weeding is carried out on the basis of professional judgment and careful planning. The procedures for weeding depend on the plan formulated by the information specialist and carried out systematically at the determined time.
Systematic weeding comprises removing:
Criteria for removing items include physical deterioration, obsolescence and lack of appropriateness for the current needs of the school community. After the materials have been identified for weeding, the removal of the items is a follow up responsibility of the Librarian and Librarian Assistant. We have also contributed reading materials to other smaller schools when needed.
We sometimes have Pudong Elementary Second-Hand Book Sales
For over seven years, we have brought books INTO the library; we have not taken many books OUT of the library.
Our older books are taking up valuable space that better books could use, creating more space on the shelves, the books we do have are more accessible and inviting.
We are weeding books that:
*we have multiple copies of
*teachers have used in teaching units and now no longer use
*have not been checked out in 5,10,15, TWENTY years
*are never likely to be checked out by anyone
*are misleading or factually inaccurate
*are superseded by a new addition or have been replaced by a better book on the subject
If you’re interested in why librarians MUST weed, check out some of these articles:
Thank you for reading