Criteria
CREW Weeding Manual
CREW: A Weeding Manual for Modern Libraries . Jeanette Larson, Texas State Library and Archives Commission 2012
Recent articles / websites about using CREW / MUSTIE criteria for weeding
Chant, Ian. "The Art of Weeding | Collection Management." The Art of Weeding | Collection Management, Library Journal, 23 June 2015
Ford, Deborah B. 2015. "To Weed or Not to Weed? Criteria to ensure that your nonfiction collection remains up to date. School Library Journal, 4 Sept. 2015.
Lamb, Annette, and Larry Johnson. 2004-2013. Information Access & Delivery: Collection Maintenance & Weeding. The School Library Media Specialist.
Mississippi Department of Education. 2017. "Weeding of Collection Resources." Mississippi Public and Nonpublic School Library Guide and Resources, p. 44 and Weeding Overview for School Librarians.
Weeding Library Collections: A Selected Annotated Bibliography for Library Collection Evaluation. American Library Association., Dec. 2015
What are the Acceptable Age Spans for Dewey categories as determined by the CREW method?" Titlewave® Help Center, Follett School Solutions, Inc., 2018,
Dewey ranges where titles with older copyrights are more likely to contain outdated/inaccurate information according to CREW
003-007 Systems Data/Computer Programs: 3 years
320-329 Political Science: 5 years
361-369 Social Problems and Services: 5 years
370-379 Education: 5 years
380-389 Commerce, Communications and Transportation: 5 years
520-529 Astronomy and Allied Sciences: 5 years
570-579 Life Sciences/Biology: 5 years
610-619 Medical Sciences/Medicine: 5 years
910-919 Geography, Maps, Atlases: 5 years
Note that these numbers are from Follett and refer to adult titles. Children's titles with simpler and more basic information usually don't date as quickly, but should be reviewed if they are older than the target range just in case.
MUSTIE
Misleading – dated or wrong facts; outdated attitudes, stereotypes, archaic language
Ugly – torn, dirty, broken, written in, brown ; dated or bad illustrations / fonts
Superseded – newer editions available (esp. almanacs, encyclopedias, etc.)
Trivial – of no discernible literary or scientific merit ; self-published ; esoteric
Irrelevant – doesn’t support curriculum ; out of scope reading / interest level ; dated popular culture ; esoteric subject
Elsewhere – information available elsewhere in collection or community ; e-resources supplant text
MILK - Consider the curdled, lumpy, stinky milk in your refrigerator
Dickinson, Gail. "Crying over spilled milk." Library Media Connection, Apr.-May 2005
Gillian's List of all the things a school library IS NOT.
If something falls into one of these categories, it may not belong in your library. Consider these when weeding and when accepting donations.
A school library is not:
a history of children's literature collection
a historical archive of school curriculum materials
an annex to a private or classroom collection
an indulgence for hoarding tendencies
a showcase for locally affiliated private or out of scope publications
an archive of student work
a storage facility for text books or reading sets
a leveled literacy center
a museum of audio visual and computer equipment, materials and manuals
Does the cover really not matter?
Can we just admit that it does? Especially for 'tween and teen readers who are particularly conscious of style and presentation.
Cover matters: the survey results. Ana Grilo and Thea James. The Book Smugglers. April 27, 2010.
Awful Library Books A blog of the best of the worst.
Professional study citations:
"The great cover-up: do kids judge books by their cover? You bet they do." Leigh Ann Jones. School Library Journal, vol. 53, no. 6, June. 2007, p. 44-47.
"Judging Books by Their Covers," D. Jackson Maxwell Book Report 19, no. 2. 2000., p.30.
"Jacket Required," Marisha Goldhamer, Teacher Magazine 12, no. 7. 2001, p.60.