Assignment+4+-+Weeding+Project


 * __ My Approach __**

When choosing books to be weeded from the Science section of the library collection I focused primarily on the age of the materials. The average age of books in our science collection is fourteen years which means that the available references for topics such as Astronomy and Genetics are significantly dated. For this assignment I chose to specifically weed books from the Astronomy and Genetics sections as there have been numerous advances in these fields within the last few years.

To begin, I used the Collection Analysis tool in Follett’s Titlewave to create an initial list of books in the Astronomy section that were more than five years old. From this list, I highlighted all titles with a publication date prior to 2000 and I proceeded to pull these books from the shelves for closer inspection. While in the stacks, I also pulled any books that showed signs of wear on the spines. As our collection of books dealing with Genetics is much smaller, I did a keyword search in the computer and pulled all of the resulting books. Before making my final decision on which resources to weed, I used the automated system to create a “Copy Usage” report for the books under consideration in order to determine the number of times that each item had been checked out and its “Last Use” date.



As my school district does not have specific policies regarding the deselection of library materials I made my final decisions according to the readings and the advice I received from another Teacher-Librarian. My mentor suggested the following:

Consider getting rid of - **any damaged or extremely unattractive material** (very dated covers or torn or missing pages, dirty, etc.) This applies especially to fiction. Replace dated looking fiction if there is an updated edition with a newer cover design even if the book is in relatively good shape. Kids won’t read a novel with a dated looking cover.

- **any outdated material** Obviously books become outdated quicker in the Science section than in the History section - any books on the solar system should not name Pluto as a planet, for example. In non-fiction, aim to have books published in the last 5-10 years, if possible, unless the book is very useful and no longer in print in a more recent edition. In the fiction section, try to have the bulk of the collection very current and only keep older books if they are of high interest or appear on a lot of recommended lists (such as Judy Blume, or some of the classics)

- **any materials clearly not in the reading-range, or age-appropriateness level of the students** in my school. When choosing curriculum support materials, buy books aimed at a slightly younger age group than grades 7-9. This is partly because many students struggle with reading but also because research time is limited and kids only have an hour or two to come up with several pages of good notes. A book written at a grade 5 level allows a grade seven student to do that quickly and efficiently.

- **non-fiction books which don't support a curriculum outcome** and are not of general interest to teens.

These guidelines were very similar to those described in the readings for this theme. As I didn’t wish to remove my entire Astronomy collection, I felt compelled to retain many books that I would have quickly discarded had I the funds to replace the resources. For the time being, I will continue to weed this section annually, replacing resources as I am able in order to gradually reduce the average age of the collection to within the recommended 5-10 years.



The following are some of the titles that were weeded from the collection:

520 ASI || Copyright 1995 Last used: May 2000 Presented as a non-fiction resource but appears to be primarily speculation bordering on science fiction (author is Isaac Asimov) || 520 Haw || Copyright 1995 Last used: May 1999 General reference about the universe || Outdated information Not being used Weeded with the intent to replace with a more current edition or resource. || 523.103 VIS || Copyright 1993 Dictionary of astronomy terms Pluto is still listed as a planet || Outdated information Weeded with the intent to replace with a more current edition or resource. || 523.4 BER || Copyright 1992 Last used: Jan. 2003 Not being used Weeded with the intent to replace with a more current edition or resource. || 532.4 BRE || Copyright 1992 Last used: Nov. 2003 (both copies) Not being used || 523.4 BRE || Copyright 1992 Last used: Feb. 2005 (both copies) Pluto still listed as a planet || Outdated information Not being used || 523.8 COU || Copyright 1996 Last used: May 2008 Some damage to spine & corners || Outdated information Not being used Weeded with the intent to replace with a more current edition or resource. || 523.8 KER || Copyright 1990 Last used: Jan. 2003 Some damage to spine & corners || Outdated information Not being used Weeded with the intent to replace with a more current edition or resource. || 572.8 NIC || Copyright 2001 Last used: April 2002 Not being used || 575.1 JEF || Copyright 1999 Only checked out once since 2003 || Outdated information Not being used || 575.1 SNE || Copyright 1995 Not being used Weeded with the intent to replace with a more current edition or resource. || 575.109 HOO || Copyright 1992 Not being used Weeded with the intent to replace with a more current edition or resource. || 576.5 BEA || Copyright 2001 Not being used Weeded with the intent to replace with a more current edition or resource. ||
 * ** Book ** ||  ** Copy Details **  ||  ** Reason for Removal **  ||
 * Space Colonies
 * 1) of checkouts: 6 || Out of date information
 * Mysteries of the Universe
 * 1) of checkouts: 2
 * Visual Dictionary of the Universe
 * 1) of checkouts: 7
 * Discovering Mars
 * 1) of checkouts: 4 || Outdated information
 * Mars (2 copies)
 * 1) of checkouts: 22 (combined) || Outdated information
 * The Outer Planets: Uranus, Neptune, Pluto (2 copies)
 * 1) of checkouts: 16 (combined)
 * Black Holes
 * 1) of checkouts: 17
 * Stars and Galaxies
 * 1) of checkouts: 7
 * Baa!
 * 1) of checkouts: 1 || Outdated information
 * Cloning: Frontiers of genetic engineering
 * 1) of checkouts: 6
 * Genetics
 * 1) of checkouts: 1 in 15 years || Outdated information
 * Genetics
 * 1) of checkouts: 4 in 15 years || Outdated information
 * Genetics
 * 1) of checkouts: 1 in 9 years || Outdated information

**__ Reflection __**

I truly enjoyed this portion of the project. I have been aware for several months that my school’s library collection was/is in need of significant weeding and this assignment provided me with the impetus to jump in and get started. I found it easier to weed books from the non-fiction section than it was last month when I ruthlessly removed more than 700 fiction titles from the collection. The rationale that I used for each weeding project was basically the same ~ discard titles that are outdated and/or non-circulating, but with the fiction titles I found myself feeling a little depressed that so many titles were sitting unused on the shelves. Many of them were award winners and several had never left the library! I had to keep reminding myself that the books being removed had not been signed out even once in the last five years and that over-crowded shelves can make it difficult for students to find a book of interest. Weeding the Science section was much easier because I know the content of the books no longer effectively supports the curriculum. The visible layer of dust on top of the volumes didn’t offer much encouragement for keeping the books either! Next stop ~ the Technology section (average age: 14 years).