Weeding with Wisdom: Tuning Deselection of Print Monographs in Book-Reliant Disciplines

As university libraries transition to digital collections and new services, their book deselection projects often lead to the adoption of cross-discipline quantitative weeding criteria (such as age and low circulation) in the interest of speed and presumed fairness. Cross-discipline quantitative rubrics, however, can have unintended negative consequences when applied to disciplines such as history and literature that rely on older books with low circulation statistics. The authors argue for a discipline-differentiated approach to weeding academic library collections that can employ quantitative criteria for disciplines, such as in the sciences, that are more reliant on current materials and qualitative criteria for disciplines, such as in the humanities, whose scholars benefit from ready access to older and low-use books.     

Sustainable Collections: The Pay-Per-View Model

Elizabeth L. Lorbeer, Associate Director for Content Management, and Nicole Mitchell, Reference Librarian, both of the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, delivered a presentation at the Mid-South eResource Symposium, hosted by Mississippi State University Libraries, August 11, 2011. Lorbeer and Mitchell described how a team at Lister Hill Library developed a plan that involved Pay-Per-View (PPV) article acquisitions to reduce journal spending. They discussed the planning, implementation, and workflow of the PPV model.     

When Worlds Collide: Dismantling the Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection at the University of New Brunswick,Saint John

The Ward Chipman Library on the Saint John campus of the University of New Brunswick is home to a freestanding collection of over 32,000 science fiction and fantasy works, including reference material, primary works, magazines, and mass market/pulp items from most of the 20th century. Some scholars, including Dr. Farah Mendlesohn of Middlesex University, have described it as one of the best in the world. Active development of this collection ceased in 2000 however, and in recent years it has been primarily used as a popular reading collection, with little academic use. A decision to reduce the collection to one designed solely for academic research was met with great protest, and subsequently the collection was weeded and the remainder moved to storage to free up space for other library initiatives. The article describes the collection, the reasons for the proposed and actual reductions, the protests, and the valuable lessons learned from the experience, including the importance of collection development and management policies, the importance of involving the user community to ensure that everyone's needs are met, and the tensions that sometimes arise when intellectual and practical concerns collide.     

Space Case: Moving from a Physical to a Virtual Journal Collection

Journal publishing has evolved and changed considerably over the years, leaving many libraries to grapple with analyzing and identifying the purpose and scope of these collections. After numerous discussions and an analysis of how the current print journal collection was being used, Kraemer Family Library at the University of Colorado–Colorado Springs decided to withdraw over 50% of the library’s print journal holdings in order to create a collaborative space for students. This article begins with an overview of journal publishing as it relates to academic libraries and the impact of electronic serials on the scope and purpose of a print journal collection. It then highlights the steps used to complete the project, and communication goals and methods employed to keep library staff members, faculty on campus, and other constituents aware of the changes taking place in the library.     

Faculty Response to Deselection in Academic Libraries: A Psycholinguistic Analysis

Deselection is a necessary but politically sensitive part of an academic librarian's responsibilities. To provide an overview of the emotional dynamics involved in weeding an academic collection, this article analyzes editorials, articles, and book chapters chronicling faculty response to weeding from a psycholinguistic viewpoint. Using computer-based text analysis, these accounts are examined for the amount and type of emotional content they contain. These findings provide a template for what librarians can expect when beginning a deselection process and point to best practices for working effectively with faculty to create a robust and healthy collection.     

No more late night dumpster runs – recycle and upcycle unwanted library books

ABSTRACT

After books and other items are deselected from the library, there remains the problem of what to do with them. Traditional means of disposal such as taking books to the tip can mean a public relations disaster is lying in wait. As alternatives, libraries have given away books to organizations that will value them, or they can sell discarded items to generate revenue. Book sales have changed significantly with the widespread adoption of the Web because this creates a much larger potential market than could be reached with sales in the library. There are many companies that take and onsell discarded library books; some are for profit and some are social businesses. Another option is to sell books to recycling companies because paper recycling is becoming much more widespread. The last, newest, and most innovative option is ‘upcycling’, which means using an old discarded library book to make something new, such as a desk, shoes, or even a chandelier.     

Editorial

Moving images are essential resources for teaching and research in higher education. Libraries provide access to these resources in many formats such as U-matic tapes, 16 mm film, VHS, DVD, and streaming video. Changing moving image technologies and preferences of faculty and students present challenges for librarians in managing media collections, as libraries must make difficult decisions about weeding legacy moving image collections. The authors present a case study and practical advice on developing guidelines for collaborative, thoughtful withdrawal of 16 mm films, lessons learned, and scalable recommendations for how libraries and archives can best maintain media collections unique to their campus.     

Weeding Older Social Sciences Journals

Weeding collections of older materials in order to make room for newer materials is now an accepted part of librarianship. Accordingly, a consistent set of objective principles for weeding now exist. Applying these objective principles of weeding to older social sciences materials is problematic in light of the epistemological debate over how the social sciences are, or should be practiced. This article will first discuss the debate over the nature of the social sciences. It will then outline the objective principles of weeding. These principles will be then be applied to an older social scientific journal that is a candidate for weeding. Finally, the article will discuss how the debate in the social sciences potentially can affect the librarian's judgment about these older materials.