Final Course Project

For this weeding project I decided to do some sight weeding. This is something I do weekly. I walk through the stacks scanning for items that appear worn or soiled. In the book stacks it is occasionally necessary to pick up and open each book looking for stains, loose pages, and cracked bindings (you can dust and shelf-read at the same time). In the DVD collections I do not usually open each case and examine the discs (although this would be a good thing to do), but I can tell from sight approximately how well a DVD has circulated. After about 40 check-outs the plastic of the DVD case starts to appear slightly opaque from scuffs and dirt. I am also looking for stains, torn cover art, and damaged cases.

At least once per year I like to make a list of all items that have not circulated in over a year, and search for these items. I find that many are missing due to mysterious circumstances or clerical errors.  I must examine the remaining items to see if they need to be discarded, or if they belong to some core collection that we should retain despite lack of popularity. I have not been able to do this yet this year because we switched our Integrated Library System (ILS) program last October, and we have many missing data fields from before that time. It will be in October that I can finally run my "Hasn't circulated in over a year" list and do a thorough weeding. I also do a list of items that have circulated over a certain number of times (60 for DVDs, 35 for books) to look at and discard if needed and replace if possible. Some popular items that are out of print, like The Lion King DVD, I keep until they do not work. 

We use the C.R.E.W. manual for weeding criteria, which gives us specific date ranges for keeping parts of the collection up to date and specific recommendations for discarding items that have not circulated. 

The CREW Guidelines for Weeding Your Collection (p. 57)

"The CREW formulas given here for the various Dewey classes are offered as ‘rules of thumb’ based on opinions in the professional literature and practical experience. The formula in each case consists of three parts:

1. The first figure refers to the years since the book's latest copyright date (age of material in the book);

2. The second figure refers to the maximum permissible time without usage (in terms of years since its last recorded circulation and assuming that the item has been in the library’s collection for at least that period of time);

3. The third refers to the presence of various negative factors, called MUSTIE factors, which will influence the weeding decision.

For example, the formula "8/3/MUSTIE" means: "Consider a book in this class for discard when its latest copyright is more than eight (8) years ago; and/or, when its last circulation or in-house use was more than three (3) years ago; and/or, when it possesses one or more of the MUSTIE factors."

"MUSTIE" factors are what I am looking for when sight weeding. The "MUSTIE" factors are: 

M = Misleading (and/or factually inaccurate)

U = Ugly (worn and beyond mending or rebinding)

S = Superseded (by a truly new edition or by a much better book on the subject)

T = Trivial (of no discernible literary or scientific merit; usually of ephemeral interest at some time in the past)

I = Irrelevant to the needs and interests of your community

E = The material or information may be obtained Expeditiously Elsewhere through inter-library loan, reciprocal borrowing, or in Electronic format. (p. 57)

"Ugly" is the one that is the easiest to spot when scanning the shelves, but you may also notice older materials that are no longer relevant or may contain outdated information. Another thing that I look for and will notice right away is multiple copies. If there are more than 3 copies on the shelf, we may have too many. If there are 4 copies of an item on the shelf, but there are 20 copies total, and 16 copies are checked out, that is an acceptable ratio, and the title is clearly popular enough to justify owning 20 copies. If there are 4 copies on the shelf, and that is all of the copies of that title owned, and some of them haven't checked out in a few months, I would consider discarding two of the items, and leaving just two on the shelf. 

I focused on the Juvenile Non-fiction DVDs for this weeding project because it needed to be done. I went through and pulled items that appeared worn, or old, and a few that had 3 copies on the shelf to look at. I pulled 19 items, and I discarded 10. At the same time I created a cart at Midwesttapes, and selected 13 titles to order as either replacements or related materials that may also be popular. 

some of the items considered for Weeding in July 2017: 

1. Milk on the Mooove. Item acquired in August of 2012, imperfection on case (bite mark), disc somewhat scratched, has circulated 7 times since acquired, and has not circulated since before last October. Decision: Discard, and do not replace. Reasoning: has not circulated well, and the information is available within the library in many children's books about farm animals and dairy cows. 

2. Meet the Sight Words (2 items). Items acquired in December of 2011, both have very worn cases, discs are somewhat scratched, but may still play, both items have circulated over 40 times, and have both circulated within the last month. Decision: Keep on the shelf for now and re-order to replace. This title and others in the Meet the Sight Words series added to Midwesttapes cart for purchase. Reasoning: This has been a very popular title, both items circulating an average of 8 times per year. 

3. Leapfrog Phonics Farm (3 items). One item acquired in 2013, two in 2016. This title has already been re-ordered due to popularity, and the older copy is worn and has circulated 44 times. The newer copies have circulated well, an average of 10 times in one year. Decision: Discard the older copy, no need to re-order. Reasoning: Two copies is sufficient for this title at this time. 

4. African Cats (1 item pulled from shelf). This item was acquired in September of 2011, and is one of 5 copies we have of the DisneyNature African Cats DVD. Recently newer copies were ordered, as the DisneyNature series is very popular this summer (due to the popularity of the Born in China movie out in Theaters this spring). This copy has circulated 44 times and has already been replaced. Decision: Discard, no need to re-order. Reasoning: This popular title has recently been re-ordered, and 4 copies of the DVD are sufficient at this time. 

5. Turtle: The Incredible Journey. This item was acquired in 2011, and is the only copy. The case is quite worn, and the disc is very scratched. It has circulated 43 times. Decision: Discard and replace. Reasoning: The disc is badly scratched and the case and cover art are ugly. This has been a relatively popular item, circulating an average of 8 times per year. Unfortunately this title is no longer available for purchase, so a similar item was ordered: Tales from the Wild: Cara The Sea Turtle.  This title from National Geographic is also about sea turtles, and kid friendly, and hopefully will circulate as well. The cover art is eye catching, but I am not sure if it is as eye catching as the Turtle DVD that was discarded. 

6. Schoolhouse Rock: Multiplication. This item was acquired in November of 2009, and has circulated 46 times. This is an average of about 6 times per year, so it has been moderately popular. Decision: Discard and replace. Reasoning: The case and the disc are worn, and this is a moderately popular series that parents still seek out. Many other titles in this series were missing, so one copy each of Multiplication Rock, Science, Money, Grammar, and America were added to the Midwesttapes cart for purchase. 

7. Leapfrog: Adventures in Shapeville Park. One of the two copies was pulled from the shelf because it was visually worn and clearly older than the other copy. This item was acquired in January of 2013, and is one of 3 copies of this title. It has circulated 18 times, or an average of 5 times per year. One is checked out, and two were on the shelf. Decision: Discard, no need to replace. Reasoning: Two copies is sufficient for this title that is only moderately popular. 

8. Rock 'N Learn Math Word Problems: Test Taking Strategies. Two copies pulled for review, Both acquired in December 2011. Items appear old, but in unused condition. Neither has circulated since last October, and they have circulated an average of less than once per year (6 times each). I examined the discs, and one had a scratch, and the other looked perfect.  Decision: Discard one, and keep one. Reasoning. One copy is more than sufficient for this title based on use. The other copy may also be discarded if it doesn't circulate. 

9. Bill Nye the Science Guy: Planets. This item was acquired in November of 2009, and has circulated 49 times, or more than 6 times per year on average .  The case and the cover art are torn, and the disc is scratched. Decision: Discard and replace. Reasoning: this is still a popular series, and Bill Nye is a known and trusted source. I do have concerns about this material being dated by any references to Pluto, but I have only found positive user reviews of this item on Amazon and Common Sense Media, some of them very recent. I  decided to re-order the Bill Nye DVD and also to order a slightly newer title to supplement the collection in this area. One copy of My Fantastic Field Trip to the Planets (2013) from Wonderscape Entertainment was also added to the Midwesttapes cart for purchase. 

10. Bill Nye the Science Guy: Mammals. This item was acquired in November of 2009, and has only circulated 16 times, or twice a year. The case is worn, and has a large bite mark on it, but the disc is in good shape. Decision: Replace case and keep on shelf for circulation. Reasoning: this particular volume is less popular than the others in the series, but does circulate enough to warrant keeping it in the collection.

11.  Rock 'N Learn Phonics Volume 2. Three items on the shelf- pulled to examine. Two items created in November 2011, that have circulated an average of 18 times, or 2.6 times per year, and one copy acquired in 2016, having circulated 2 times in less than a year. None of the covers are in bad shape, but one disc did have a scratch. Decision: Discard one. Reasoning: two copies is more than sufficient for this title. Volume 2 in this series is less popular than volume 1. We currently have three copies of each volume, but two copies of volume one are checked out, and  the copies of volume 1 have circulated an average of 4 times per year. 

12. Elmo's Potty Time. This item is extremely worn and abused. This DVD was acquired in August of 2012 and has circulated 30 times, or 6 times per year. The other copy that we had was never returned in June of 2016. The case is gross, and the disc is scratched. Decision: Discard and replace with two new copies. Reasoning: This is a relatively popular DVD for potty training parents. 

The end result of my weeding is 10 DVDs discarded, 5 of them duplicates copies, 1 item sent to repair for a new case, and 13 titles ordered or re-ordered. You nay notice from the photographs of the shelves below that we keep Blu-ray titles interfiled in our DVD collection. We have very few Blu-rays currently. We have just begun to add them as they become available, especially when we can purchased the Blu-ray combo packs. Midwesttapes packages these separately for us effectively giving the library two items for the price of one.