Against the Grain

Volume 19 | Issue 3 Article 8

June 2007 Moving From Good Effort to Best Practice -- Refining a Weeding Process in a Dental School Library Barbara A. Gushrowski MLS Indiana University School of Dentistry Library, [email protected]

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Recommended Citation Gushrowski, Barbara A. MLS (2007) "Moving From Good Effort to Best Practice -- Refining a Weeding Process in a Dental School Library," Against the Grain: Vol. 19: Iss. 3, Article 8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7771/2380-176X.5365

This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact [email protected] for additional information. not reading a book from cover to cover, but opment, shared print goals, mass digitization From Print to Electronic ... rather are interested in discrete segments, thus projects and preservation.” from page 24 lessening the problems associated with read- This paper began with the statement that IET ing large amounts of text from a monitor. The UC Merced librarians did not start out intend- receives all print books, both approvals thinking of the librarians has also been influ- ing to create an all-electronic library. From the and firm orders, completely shelf-ready enced by the increasing number of announce- composition of the library’s current holdings it from YBP. The library receives files ments of the building of all-electronic, or as appears that it is headed strongly in that direc- of bibliographic records for print books DIGITAL LIBRARY Stanford says “bookless” engineering and tion, at least in science and technology. The from YBP and files of bibliographic business libraries. Library staff has begun to author expects that the UC Merced Library records for eBooks from various ven- schedule focus groups to test this hypothesis. will be collecting in print in the humanities and dors. These include monthly updates Even if science and engineering faculty some of the social sciences for some time. The from ebrary, records from Coutts for and student preferences are overwhelmingly in rationale for this prediction comes principally purchased titles and records from OCLC favor of eBooks, however, the ILL issue would from the information-seeking behaviors of for patron-purchased EBL titles. In still be a barrier. In a few years the library persons in various disciplines. The shift from The IET Digital Library contains all IET journals, addition, the library receives weekly could be faced with a situation in which most print to electronic, particularly with regard to files of records from the UC Shared if not all of the science and engineering collec- journals, has been fastest and most complete magazines, conference publications and seminar Cataloging Program for electronic tion could not be loaned to other libraries. The in science, technology, medicine and business. resources licensed by the California solution is not to expect libraries to purchase Faculty in these fields has been highly recep- digests, encompassing a wide range of essential Digital Library. These include records duplicate print and electronic copies in order tive to the use of eBooks. On the other hand, information in electrical and electronic for databases, electronic journals and to permit interlibrary loan. Rather, libraries in literature and history UC Merced faculty eBooks. All records go to the library’s should work for licensing that recognizes the continue to express strong preferences for print, engineering, telecommunications, computing, authority control vendor and are then purchase of electronic titles as “first sale” to even to the extent of requesting print titles that loaded into the local catalog. Files are allow interlibrary loan and for business models duplicate existing eBooks. This preference power, control, radar, circuits, materials, life extracted weekly from the local catalog that recognize fair use. appears to be independent of the age or experi- and uploaded to Melvyl, the University ence of the individual faculty members. of California union catalog. One person So far this discussion has been limited to sciences related research and IT. in technical services handles all record local initiatives at UC Merced. At the same The speed at which our monographic import and export regardless of source time, the UC Libraries are beginning to in- collections become digital will be primarily or format. vestigate system-wide consortial licensing of governed, not by user desires or expectations, eBooks. The UC Collection Development but by the willingness of publishers to view IET Digital Library Publications IET Digital Library - Benefits and Features • Integration of eBooks into the systems Committee has recently charged a task force, eBooks as other than adjuncts or threats to their of print vendors has greatly improved. of which the author is chair, to “develop a set print revenues. For the benefit of all library (1994 onwards) l Issues and articles available online in NetLibrary titles have been available of guiding principles for collecting books in users, the author hopes that the progress that Electronics Letters advance of printed publication through YBP for some time. Recently electronic format, in the broader context of has been made toward meeting user needs will Micro & Nano Letters l All visitors can freely browse the table of YBP has announced agreements with both system-wide monographic collection devel- continue. EBL and ebrary to make their titles avail- IET Research Journals - 20 titles* contents and abstracts for all publications able through GOBI as well. It is also pos- (formerly IEE Proceedings) l Pay-per-view access to articles for sible to order individual eBooks through Engineering & Technology non-subscribers the Coutts online system, OASIS. IET Magazines - 7 titles l Advanced search capabilities: Search by • Many publishers, though certainly not Moving From Good Effort to Best all, have begun to offer more realistic IET Conference Publications Author, Title or Abstract words, Journal Name, licensing terms that recognize scholarly IET Seminar Digests Issue or Volume, Inspec indexing terms and sharing and permit at least limited down- Practice — Refining a Weeding Inspec classification codes and free indexing loading, emailing and printing. Process in a Dental School Library * including 5 new titles for 2007: l Table of contents email alerts service • Acquisition models are evolving with IET Computer Vision l COUNTER Compliant usage statistics ebrary offering both a subscription model and a single-purchase model for acquir- by Barbara A. Gushrowski, MLS (Access and Instructional Services Librarian, IET Image Processing l Email article abstract links to colleagues ing eBooks. Access models are also Indiana University School of Dentistry Library; Phone: 317-274-5204; Fax: 317- IET Signal Processing l Save abstracts and links to articles in evolving. While some providers cling 278-1256) IET Synthetic Biology ‘My Articles’ to a single user at a time model, others IET Renewable Power Generation l Bookmark favorite titles in ‘My Publications’ list such as EBL with their non-linear lend- In the autumn of 2005, the staff at the Indi- than on gathering data. l Download citations in EndNote(R), BibTex, ing model and ebrary and Coutts with ana University School of Dentistry Library Most librarians can list the standard rea- New for 2007 - plain text and other formats single and multi-user purchase options (IUSDL) commenced a major weeding project sons for weeding a collection; to save space, have moved beyond the older model. of the circulating collection. Since weeding save staff time in re-shelving, increase patron IET Digital Library Archive (1872-1993) l Citation links to Inspec abstracts and article However, a library is still required to was previously not performed vigorously or satisfaction, etc. And all librarians can pro- The Institution of Engineering and Technology full text via Crossref DOIs choose between a subscription that al- with any regularity, the library had reached vide justification for why their collection is is digitizing its journal archive from the start of lows for unlimited simultaneous users critical mass in the stacks shelving. The not weeded regularly; not enough IEE publications in 1872 up to 1993 adding a but no perpetual access to the content shelves were filled to capacity, including the time, not enough staff, no pro- and a purchase that limits simultaneous topmost shelf of each unit, and a major cess in place, the need to further 70,000 articles to the IET Digital Library. users but provides for perpetual access initiative to analyze the collec- report growth in the col- Also available online for the very first time is to the content. tion and weed out the unused lections each year, etc. ‘Electronics Letters’ from 1965-1993. While the landscape has changed for the and aged items began. While the author makes better in many ways since 2003, in one sig- Through fits and starts this no claim that what fol- nificant respect it has not. Publishers are still project has proceeded for 18 lows will solve all of refusing to allow interlibrary loan of eBooks. months, and, though progress the above-mentioned At UC Merced we have begun to inves- has been slow, we are see- problems, this article tigate whether all of our science, engineering ing good results. We began does present details of and business monographs should be electronic. with lofty goals, unrealistic a process that, through For further information about the Faculty and students clearly prefer journals in timetables, and a labor intensive process. As refinement, works well features, or to find out more about electronic format; the library literally could not the project proceeded, our goals changed to in the IUSDL, an explanation of the work flow, the subscription packages available, give away print copies of biomedical journals become actually attainable, timetables are now and the story of how a “Good Effort” became www.ietdl.org visit www.ietdl.org or contact: that had to be taken in order to acquire online very flexible, and our process has been refined a “Best Practice.” Email: [email protected] access. Users in these disciplines are usually so that more time is spent making decisions continued on page 28 The Institution of Engineering and Technology Tel: 1-866-906-5900 (US & Canada) 26 Against the Grain / June 2007 The Institution of Engineering and Technology (the IET) is a not for profit organization, registered Charity No. 211014. or +1-732-321-5575

iet_digital_library_ad_atg_april2007 20/2/07 09:30:56 Moving From Good Effort to ... from page 26 against thepeople grain profile Rationale for the Project Even the most cursory review of the library literature reveals a list of compelling reasons to Access and Instructional Services Librarian regard the weeding of a library collection as a IUSD Library good and gracious process. Chief among these are to provide much needed space for new ma- terials; to save staff time in re-shelving; to rid Born & lived: Born in Indianapolis — lived in several cities in Indiana — two the library of out-of-date and/or out-of-scope years in a very small town in North Carolina and now back in Indianapolis. materials; to balance the subject coverage and Early life: Grew up in Terre Haute, IN. content of the collection; and to save on the cost of housing the collection.1,2,3,4,5 Family: I have three charming and talented daughters, two equally charming and talented sons-in-law, and one very precious three month old granddaugh- The IUSDL serves the undergraduate DDS students, Dental Assisting and Dental ter. I have two older and two younger brothers, four terrific sisters-in-law, six Hygiene programs, as well as 14 post-gradu- nephews and two nieces. ate programs. In addition, we serve the Oral Education: BS in General Studies at IUPUI and MLS at IUPUI. Health Research facility and all Dental School First job: I assume you mean professional job — Librarian at St. Vincent faculty in their teaching and research. Much Hospital, Indianapolis where I had the most wonderful mentor, Louise Hass. She of this research is cross-disciplinary in nature taught me all the important things about being a librarian — patience, service, and the Library strives to provide dental and respect for patrons, colleagues, and vendors. (If you mean my first job ever non-dental materials across several medical — washing dishes at a lunch counter for 50 cents an hour!) and scientific disciplines. The IUSDL staff Professional career and activities: During library school I decided I consists of a Head Librarian, Access & Instruc- wanted to work in as many kinds of libraries as possible so that I could find tional Services Librarian, and three Library the best fit. I have worked full or part-time in the following: Art school library, Assistants. newspaper library, art museum library, hospital library, corporate R & D library, In 2005 IUSDL staff measured and calcu- university library, and now the Dental School library. I think small special libraries lated the current state of the stacks shelving — especially the health science libraries — have the greatest appeal. for the circulating collection. The stacks area totals 1,409 linear feet of shelving space. In my spare time I like to: Read and garden. Unfortunately, 210 feet of that space comprise Favorite books: Anything by Annie Dillard and all the Harry Potter books. the topmost shelf in each of the 72 units. This Pet peeves/what makes me mad: Anyone using a cell phone while driv- meant that about 15% of the collection was out ing. of reach without the aid of a step stool. On Philosophy: Whatever goes around, comes around. any given day it is estimated that shelves were Most meaningful career achievement: The position I took with the filled to 91% capacity. Assuming that 20% of MLS A. Gushrowski, Barbara the collection is circulating at any one time, it Dental School in 2005 was a PA level. I took with the intention of making it into was clear that the library was woefully short a professional librarian position which was finalized in March 2007. This is the of space to house our collection. first time in the IUSDL history that there have been two librarian positions. I think this creates a tremendous opportunity for the library to positively impact The library staff developed a simple plan. Start at the beginning (A) and work through dental education here at IUSD. to the end (Z); assess the collection via some Goal I hope to achieve five years from now: To be head librarian in a criteria; weed out unneeded items; then shift special library. the collection so that the top shelf of each unit How/Where do I see the industry in five years: I think we’ll continue was left empty and space was available on each to see decreasing emphasis on materials processing and other “traditional” shelf for new purchases. library functions and, at least in the school and university setting, librarians will Our objectives were clear. To rid the be actively involved in instruction. Librarians are already taking their goods and shelves of out-of-date and out-of-scope mate- services TO the patron using increasing sophisticated technology this trend will rials; balance the collection by analyzing the continue to grow. subject content and coverage; and gain much- needed shelf space. And so in our blind innocence we began... and immediately encountered difficulties. Staff turnover, an undefined process, an absence of Six Major Steps in Our Process the few resulting empty spaces in the middle of written collection development policies, and 1. Develop the plan and be prepared to the collection are a minimal nuisance. other library work taking precedence threat- deviate from it. Below is the essence of IUSDL’s plan: ened to undermine the entire project. Despite By the end of this project the library staff 1. Generate a shelf-list with usage data. This the difficulties, the even greater difficulty of knew that the entire collection would eventu- is accomplished by an email request to dealing with crowded shelves led us to perse- ally be shifted, so it made sense to begin at the the systems librarian at Indiana Uni- vere and slowly progress was made. beginning to prevent shifting some sections versity (IU) Bloomington. He runs the It became clear early on that we needed several times. However, it was soon deter- reports and the IUSDL Access and In- to refine our process, write collection devel- mined that some problem subject areas could structional Services Librarians transfers opment policies, establish definite weeding be resolved out of the alphabetical sequence. the data to spreadsheets. This process criteria, and create a reasonable timetable for For example, weeding decisions in the comput- takes less than a day. completion. Here, then, is the result of our er technology (TK) and library science (Z) sec- 2. The IUSDL Access and Instructional trials and errors that has become a process that tions were relatively straightforward. Multiple Services Librarian edits the spreadsheets works in our library. The author is hopeful that copies of older items in several other sections to reflect only the key data points we readers may find aspects of this process that can were also withdrawn. We were able to create need and adds additional columns for be applied to their libraries. additional space with very little shifting, and continued on page 30 28 Against the Grain / June 2007 members used the same sources and gathered mentioned above, there were several events Moving From Good Effort to ... the same information. that delayed progress. Three of five staff po- from page 28 Much of the data needed is present in the sitions were vacated and subsequently filled. shelf list and usage report derived from the ILS. The entire library was closed for six weeks to more data. These spreadsheets are saved The report is transferred to a spreadsheet with accommodate painting and new carpet instal- to a shared drive and staff members are the following fields: lation. The Library committee (made up of assigned to each of the spreadsheets. 1. Call number faculty, one student, and the Head Librarian) is 3. Staff add additional pieces of informa- not available during school breaks, and faculty 2. Title tion for each title. time is heavily committed at the beginning 3. Author 4. The Access and Instructional Services and end of each semester. And, of course, the Librarian reviews the age and usage data 4. Date of publication everyday work of serving the patrons, process- on the spreadsheet, reviews the items on 5. Edition ing materials, and providing instruction leaves the shelf, and makes initial recommenda- 6. Item ID less time for the weeding project. tions to keep, discard, and/or update as 7. Number of checkouts However, each section of the collection that appropriate. is completed provides staff with encourage- 8. Number of in-house uses 5. The list with recommendations on ment to carry on. We simply take each step 9. Date of last checkout which titles to keep, discard, or update as we can and don’t expect the project to be is given to the Head Librarian for further Additional data is entered onto the spread- completed for many months to come. review. sheet by two staff members 6. Have a disposal plan for the de-accessioned 6. The final list is prepared and sent to the 10. from our ILS they record which items and be aware of any restrictions the Library Committee for their comments. other libraries in the IU system library may be under. Further adjustments to the list are made own each item IUSDL is fortunate that the IU system-wide based on their recommendations 11. from WorldCat they determine the librarian’s organization holds an annual book 7. Items are pulled from the shelf, with- most recent edition (if any) of each sale and are eager to acquire items for that drawn from the ILS and from OCLC, item venture. IUSDL also holds a semi-annual book boxed and shipped to the main library The final pieces of data are obtained when sale that is an additional opportunity to find a in Bloomington for re-sale at the annual the Access and Instructional Services Librarian good use for withdrawn materials. book sale. takes the shelf list to the stacks and Libraries that do not have such an outlet 2. Keep the Project Manageable by working 12. reviews the physical condition of must be aware of any restrictions that could on reasonable size portions of the collection the item be placed on the disposition of withdrawn library materials. Tax-funded institutions may and involving as many staff members as 13. reviews the depth and breadth be ruled by state or local laws. The author rec- possible. of coverage for each subject area ommends that libraries discover options prior using OCLC’s WorldCat The individual spreadsheets are kept to to removing a single item from the shelf. If a Analysis Service. 300 items or less, depending on reasonable library has done some weeding in the past they breaks in the call number sequence. At IUSDL 4. Determine criteria for weeding that is as may already know of any restrictions. every staff member has an important role to objective as possible. play in data collection and physical removal As recommend by Slote,5 a combination Where We Go From Here of the items. of use and age criteria is used. If the item is One thing this project has taught IUSDL Remember that the IUSDL has undertaken 15 years or older and has no recorded use for staff is the importance of written collec- a major, initial weeding project. Once the five years the initial decision is to remove it. tion development and withdrawal policies. initial project is completed Policy statements describ- the maintenance will be ing the depth of coverage much less labor intensive. “...all librarians can provide justification for why in a subject area, policies Through trial and error we on duplicate copies, how learned how best to distrib- their collection is not weeded regularly; not enough many previous editions of ute the work as evenly as time, not enough staff, no process in place, the need a title are kept, and at what possible, to clearly define age an item is considered the responsibilities for to report growth in the collections each year, etc.” out-of-date are needed to each staff member, and keep the collection under to integrate the weeding control. Developing and project into our workflow while taking into Duplicate copies are easily identified and, un- abiding by written collection policies are first account the ebb and flow of other duties. The less use is heavy and recent, all but one of these steps in assuring a balanced, well-tended col- work is intermittent, and has become so much copies is marked for withdrawal. lection. They make the weeding process less a part of the routine work of the library that it The content and condition of the item are cumbersome and withdrawal decisions more is no longer considered extra work. also reviewed. Shabby, worn, and torn items objective. 3. Determine the data to collect and make are marked for withdrawal and/or replacement. Once this project is completed the next sure it is the data you need. Items that are fragile and of historical interest target is the journal collection. While IUSDL By reviewing the spreadsheets created at the are moved from the stacks to our special col- doesn’t anticipate major withdrawals, we are beginning of the project, it was clear that the lection cabinets. Items that had originally been beginning to develop criteria that will assist in School of Dentistry Library was gathering placed in a vertical file then subsequently cata- making some of the difficult decision regard- information that was neither needed nor useful. logued and added to the collection are marked ing serials. It was also discovered that staff members were for withdrawal with the notation that the item is Among the criteria under consideration: not using the same sources when gathering the a brochure or pamphlet and noting the number 1. is the title indexed? additional data. The end result was that deci- of pages, usually fewer than five. 2. how many ILL requests do we fill sions were being made based on incomplete 5. Keep expectations reasonable and take from the title? information. heart in every step of progress made. 3. electronic availability of the title To resolve these inconsistencies, the fields While library staff had made no firm esti- to be represented in the spreadsheet were mate of time to completion, the author does 4. do we have duplicate copies? standardized and the process of gathering not believe any of us envisioned the process 5. historical value of the journal additional data was clarified so that the staff being prolonged to the extent that it has. As continued on page 32

30 Against the Grain / June 2007 Library Liaisons and the Organization: An Open System View of Collection Development in the Academic Library by Daniel C. Mack (Head, George and Sherry Middlemas Arts and Humanities Library, Penn State University Libraries, W 327 Pattee Library, 3rd floor, West Pattee, University Park, PA 16802-1803; Phone: 814-865-6779; Fax: 814-863-7502) www.personal.psu.edu/dcm11

An enormous body of literature exists con- and holistic entity, as a model it presents oppor- energy,”7 that is, those external environmental cerning collection development in academic tunities for analyzing, evaluating, and effecting factors that feed into the organization and libraries. Within this area, there is a respect- change within the process. contribute to its ongoing existence, and the able amount of research on library liaisons to Organizational psychologists have dis- output, which is what the system exports to its user populations, especially faculty and, to a cussed the systems concept of organizations environment. Since the library exists within lesser extent, students in specific academic for decades. Among the various theoretical a larger organization, the university, we can units or fields of study. This research includes types of systems by which one can view analyze this input and output between a system guidelines, professional standards, assess- human organizations, the most interesting, and its larger environment on several levels. At ment, communication, and case studies. One and realistic, is the open system. Katz and the level of the university as a system within its extremely useful way to view the role of the Kahn define an open system as a system into larger social, cultural, political, scholarly, eco- liaison within a library’s collection develop- the “input of energies and the conversion of nomic, and technological environment, we can ment activities is through the open systems output into further energic input consist of identify certain “energies” or inputs that impact model of organizations. transactions between the organization and its the work of the university as a system. These Liaisons are those librarians who “involve environment.”5 In other words, in an open sys- include external factors such as these: the library’s clientele in the assessment and tem, an organization interacts with its external • the political and economic landscape, satisfaction of collection needs.”1 In academic environment, drawing upon the environment especially if the institution is heavily libraries, the liaison is often active not only in for energy, and transforming that energy into dependent on federal, state, or local funds collection development, analysis, assessment, something different, which is then given back coming into the system as grants, loans, and evaluation, but also in reference work, to the environment. In addition, a smaller or subventions; research mentoring, bibliographic instruction, organization, such as a library, may have this • the scholarly environment, which is and other library outreach activities. Librar- same relationship with a larger organization, especially important to track because ians serving as liaisons for the first time often such as its parent university. This seems like the curriculum is continually becoming require practical advice on how to succeed as a natural way to model libraries and programs more international and interdisciplinary, liaisons.2 Likewise, more experienced librar- in early twenty-first century academia. The and because of the advent of new disci- ians may want to expand their liaison activities professional literature discusses the open sys- plines and methodologies, such as gender into areas such as creating Web-based subject tem concept within library computer systems, studies, queer theory, and the varieties of guides, for example,3 while administrators may information management, and similar topics.6 postmodernism; want to assess their liaison programs.4 In all of However, this view also offers an interesting • the social and cultural environment, these cases, the open systems view of organi- and useful model for analyzing collection de- which can shape how the university at- zations is an effective model for viewing how velopment activities of liaison librarians. tracts students, faculty, and staff, as well a liaison’s collection development activities In an open systems view, an organization as societal demand for new academic operate within the library and the university. exists in symbiosis with its larger environ- programs, such as homeland security Because the open systems concept presents a ment. It is therefore necessary to identify what studies; model of the entire organization as a dynamic Katz and Kahn refer to as the “importation of • the technological environment, which can determine what technologies are available to the organization and its members. Moving From Good Effort to ... entire staff, and keeping our expectations real- Likewise, we can identify key “outputs” from page 30 istic, we are shaping a significantly improved from the university back into the environment; collection — one that is valuable to and valued these include: by IUSD patrons. 6. scope — does it still fit in our • students, who then presumably con- collection? tribute to society at large as productive Endnotes members, paying taxes, providing goods 7. how many other IU system and services to society, and in some cases libraries hold the same title 1. Hall, B. H. (1985). Assessments for special purposes. In Collection Assessment feeding back into the university (or an- 8. impact factor of the journal Manual for College and University Libraries other university) as faculty or staff; 9. availability of the title from our (pp. 69-80). Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press. • research, both pure and applied, which lending partners. 2. Johnson, D. (2003). Head for the Edge. then informs both the general society and Library Media Connection, 22(1), 130, Summary other scholars, and provides not only so- 128. cial and cultural capital, but also possibly For IUSDL, the results are well worth the 3. Lancaster, F. W. (1993). If You Want To contribute to the political, economic, and effort. We have removed a total of 1,435 items, Evaluate Your Library.... Champaign, IL: technological development of the larger University of Illinois, Graduate School of have regained over 100 linear feet of shelf environment; space, and 13 of our 72 units no longer have Library and Information Science. • economic and technological contribu- books on the top shelf. 4. Martin, M. (2004). Good grooming: Basic issues in weeding and weeding policy tions, such as development of new tech- This project continues alongside all the rest in library collections. Mississippi Libraries, nologies and products, patents, etc.; of the work of the library. Our belief in the 68(2), 36-38. • social and cultural contributions, includ- importance and value of weeding this collec- 5. Slote, S. J. (1997). Weeding Library Col- ing artistic creations, performances, tion has been a key factor in the continuation lections: Library Weeding Methods (4th ed.). social networking, and contributions to and success of the project to date. By refining Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, Inc. general education. the process, defining the criteria, involving the continued on page 34 32 Against the Grain / June 2007