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What is Deselection, otherwise known as "weeding?"
What is Deselection, otherwise known as "weeding?"
Libraries have been long thought of as dusty old warehouses full of books. We must ensure every item in our collection serves a purpose, meets Board Policy, and is not taking up space “just in case”. School libraries are not archives; we do not have the staff, space, or funds to maintain an ever-growing collection of outdated books. For that reason, and to make our library collection more useful to students and staff, we pursue an aggressive weeding campaign at our campuses. Shelves that are jammed full of books are unattractive, hard to navigate, and give the false impression that the media center has everything it needs.
Weeding is one of our professional responsibilities that help us ensure we have a useful, vibrant, relevant collection of outstanding, accurate, and up-to-date library materials for our users. This is a huge project, so we have created the HSD Collection Crew to help!
Why do we deselect books?
Why do we deselect books?
To provide a more appealing, more up-to-date collection
To provide reliable information (for example, science and technology books from the 1990s are no longer accurate)
To make the library easier for students and staff to use
To identify gaps in the collection
To make room for new, current materials by removing books that do not circulate
Before Weeding
Before Weeding
Overfilled bookshelves that are difficult to navigate. These stacks of books are heavy, and students will have a very difficult time trying to find what they need.
After Weeding
After Weeding
Students can access the books. Books are faced forward which makes them more enticing. Circulation will go up as students no longer need to search through old, beat up books to find the ones they want. Credit: Jen Blair
A Jackson Elementary student browsing a shelf immediately after it was weeded.
Examples of Books Weeded from HSD Collections
1950's edition of Helen Keller's autobiography. Dirty, and old. If book is still relevant to students then a newer edition should be purchased.
Broken binding beyond mending, dirty.
Superseded, outdated. A newer edition should be purchased.
Irrelevant, trivial. (Most students today have no interest in becoming a clown.)
Water damage, markings, mold. Any books with water damage and mold should immediately be weeded.
Water damage, mold, dirt.
Irrelevant (chicken pox).
Misleading, outdated.
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