Weeding
Weeding or deselection of materials is a part of collection maintenance. It should be tied to the goals and mission of the library and the district. An optimal library collection is reviewed consistently for accuracy, currency, usage, diversity, and subject area gaps. Space limitations, edition, format, physical condition, and number of copies are also considerations.
Districts, with school librarians leading the charge, should develop district policies to guide collection maintenance. This policy could be called a collection development policy (a more comprehensive term) or a weeding policy. The policy should not only provide considerations for the development of the collection, it should also specify who repairs materials and is responsible for ordering, weeding, and inventory. Lastly, policies may also provide guidance about the disposal of weeded items.
Conducting regular inventories are a very important part of collection development. Inventories don't necessarily need to be done each year, but they should be done on a routine basis that best fits the needs of the school.
I'll leave you with a link to explore more about this topic. Check out my Pearltrees collection with links to resources about weeding and collection maintenance.
Weeding, by alissamadams
Districts, with school librarians leading the charge, should develop district policies to guide collection maintenance. This policy could be called a collection development policy (a more comprehensive term) or a weeding policy. The policy should not only provide considerations for the development of the collection, it should also specify who repairs materials and is responsible for ordering, weeding, and inventory. Lastly, policies may also provide guidance about the disposal of weeded items.
Conducting regular inventories are a very important part of collection development. Inventories don't necessarily need to be done each year, but they should be done on a routine basis that best fits the needs of the school.
I'll leave you with a link to explore more about this topic. Check out my Pearltrees collection with links to resources about weeding and collection maintenance.
Weeding, by alissamadams
