An inventory which culminates in the reevaluation of the collection is conducted on a five-year cycle. Re-evaluation involves a regular assessment of materials in each subject area to determine validity in support of the instructional program.
Proper discarding, or withdrawal, is as important in developing the collection as proper selection. Materials are withdrawn in order to maintain a current, active, and useful collection which reflects the objectives of the collection development program.
The library staff assumes the major responsibility for the maintenance of a supportive collection of materials. Instructors and program directors are consulted, in specific areas as a safeguard against the withdrawal or cancellation of materials with special qualities or significance.
Continuous weeding is necessary to maintain collections so that they offer a balance between standard classics and the currently popular while eliminating incorrect information and worn books. Collections should also reflect usage patterns and trends, as topics and formats may need to be weeded based on waning customer interest.
It is important to note that weeding is always based on professional judgment. Just as in selection, the content of the current collection, resource sharing, materials available from publishers and producers and community needs must all be considered in decision making. In weeding certain areas, such as religion or social sciences, a balance of viewpoints must be maintained. Having material available on a wide range of reading levels is also a goal for most locations.
The library may wish to retain selected materials for historical perspective. Neighborhood libraries should consider weeding items that have been superseded by updated information.
For some subjects, however, such as medicine, no information is better than outdated or inaccurate information. In others, such as technology and science, finance and the law, materials may date rapidly. In most cases, out-of-date titles should not be retained even if nothing else is available in the collection.
When considering whether to weed items that would leave a collection lacking in a particular area, it may be helpful to consult the online catalog to determine whether more up-to-date materials are available either in print from other locations or in electronic format. Of course, the decision may also be made to request or select new titles on the topic.
The purpose of weeding is to:
Utilize available space in the best and most economical way
Maintain up-to-date collections and the library's reputation for reliability
Increase speed of access and improve accuracy of retrieval
Remove books least likely to be used in the future
Increase circulation
Locate books that need to be repaired, rebound or replaced
Save expense of housing materials unnecessarily
Review collection for contact and identify areas where additional titles are needed
Become aware of changes in the way the community uses the collection
Materials in poor condition should be weeded and considered for replacement. Weed items which have the following:
Books may be in excellent physical condition but contain inaccurate information or be presented in such a way as to warrant weeding. Weed based on the following criteria:
Inventory reports on selected areas that show the frequency of circulation and/or the most recent circulation may be generated from data collected by the integrated library system (ILS). Generally, items that have not circulated for three years and are not needed for reference should be evaluated for discard. In smaller, more crowded collections or with more popular formats, it may be more useful to consider items that have not circulated in the last year as possible candidates for withdrawal.
Weeding criteria will be used to determine if gift items will be cataloged and added to the collection. Weeding guidelines for gift books are no different than those for purchased materials. The presence of a bookplate does not make an item exempt from withdrawal. The collection development criteria used when selecting new titles should be employed when assessing gift books. Never add a gift item that would not have been purchased. The cost for processing gifts, possible shelf life, and interest are major considerations. Donated items that are not added to the collection and meet the criteria for Better World Books or the Sustainable Shelves program will be boxed and sent to those entities.
Weeded materials from the collection will be deleted from the ILS using appropriate deletion procedures. Weeded materials meeting the criteria of Better World Books or the Sustainable Shelves program will be boxed and sent to those entities.
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