Weeding

WEEDING

• Weeding the School Library from the California Department of Education

• Awful Library Books

• Weeding the High School Library Don't Shush Me Blog

• Crew Method on  VCOE Library Livebinder

• Collection Maintenance and Weeding from The School Library Media Specialist Website

• Weeding your home library from Marie Kondo

"Good Weeds Newsletter article" by Heather Gruenthal

Ever wonder why libraries "throw books away?" While shelving books at Western's library, I came across a book titled Computers: Their Operation and Applications by Edmund Callis Berkeley. This book was published in 1956, and was shelved in the Mathematics section (before the Dewey Decimal System was revised to hold computers in the 004-006 section). 

Here's a gem of information on "Miniature Computers and their use in Training:"

"Access to a Computer

One main requirement in every undertaking to teach persons about automatic computers is access to one. Obviously, those schools that have automatic computers are the ones that offer courses in their operation. Ideally, every school that teaches mathematics should possess an example of an automatic computer, so that students might be trained not only in the process of doing arithmetic by hand, but also in the process of doing arithmetic by automatic computer. However, most automatic computers are monopolized by "VIP's -- very important problems....An automatic computer may rent for $300 an hour, and it is hardly possible to allow individual students a couple of hours of actual instruction and experiment on such a machine, as if it were a desk calculator. A second factor is that many schools can afford to spend not more than a few hundred dollars towards an automatic computing machine, while the current lowest cost of a digital computer is about $40,000." (pp. 172-173)

Spring Cleaning

When we discard our back issues of magazines, we are completing a process called weeding or de-selection. 

Materials that no longer meet the District’s selection criteria must be discarded to avoid giving students false information. Although libraries used to keep extensive archives of magazines for research purposes, the Internet and availability of electronic resources makes archives obsolete.

Do you have old books and magazines piling up at home? If you have books and magazines that you will never read again or use for reference purposes, consider donating your old books and magazines to the school. Books and magazines appropriate for high school can be brought to the library. We have a bin for magazines (black out your name and address first), and paperbacks can be used in classroom libraries (you may even want to start your own). There is also a faculty bookshelf in the mail room where you can donate books appropriate for teachers. Take the rest to your local public library. Keep a list for your tax records and use it as a charitable contribution (estimate fair market value for used books based on used book store prices—up to 50% of the cover price, depending on the condition of the book.).  

Companies that will take Used Books:

Better World Books

David Ebrite 574-334-5817 

Discover Books

Thriftbooks 

Lisa Pollock

Western Regional Library Account Manager

7631 N Upland Drive Portland, OR 97203

cell: 541.778.3852

office: 253-275-2241 X 7168

fax: 253.322.6164

email: lpollock@thriftbooks.com

http://www.thriftbooks.com/library/