Weeding Gone Wild: Planning and Implementing a Review of the Reference Collection
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Bowling Green State University ScholarWorks@BGSU University Libraries Faculty Publications University Libraries Spring 2008 Weeding Gone Wild: Planning and Implementing a Review of the Reference Collection Carol A. Singer Bowling Green State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ul_pub Part of the Library and Information Science Commons Repository Citation Singer, Carol A., "Weeding Gone Wild: Planning and Implementing a Review of the Reference Collection" (2008). University Libraries Faculty Publications. 26. https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ul_pub/26 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University Libraries at ScholarWorks@BGSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in University Libraries Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@BGSU. Feature Weeding Gone Wild Planning and Implementing a Review of the Reference Collection Carol A. Singer A major review of the reference collec- perceded volumes for which the newer tion in Bowling Green State University’s edition had not yet been purchased, and Carol A. Singer is Interim Reference Jerome Library was made necessary by titles for which newer comparable mate- Coordinator, Jerome Library, Bowling the decision to incorporate the materials rials could be purchased. Pierce explains Green State University, Bowling Green, from the reference collection in the sci- that this large task is common because Ohio. Submitted for review December ence library. The process of planning and “As unplanned collections grow, shelf 27, 2005; revised and accepted for implementing this collection review is and seating space shrink, and works with publication July 14, 2006. described, emphasizing how this process needed information are lost in the clutter has been affected by changes in technol- of outdated and inappropriate materials ogy and the demands made by library crowding the shelves.”2 In a 1982 article, users. Suggestions that may help ensure Rettig equates reference collections com- a successful review are included. posed of outdated information to a bib- liographic Love Canal.3 Schlachter notes t had been five years since a that the prevalence of obsolete reference complete review of the refer- sources in library collections had not ence collection in the William T. improved by 1988 and at the time called Jerome Library at Bowling Green for the American Library Association’s IState University (BGSU) had been per- Reference and Adult Services Division to formed, but other priorities had delayed provide leadership to remedy the situa- this chore. Once the decision was made tion.4 In addition to the aforementioned to move the Ogg Science Library refer- tasks, Jerome Library reference staff also ence collection to Jerome Library, weed- hoped to identify and fill any previously ing both reference collections became a unidentified gaps in the collection. A necessity before they were combined. properly conducted review can be an As Pierce points out in his introduction excellent method of improving the staff’s to a Reference Librarian special issue knowledge of the collection, resulting in on weeding, it is not unusual to delay improved reference service. weeding until a library is confronted Reference librarians were concerned Reference & User Services Quarterly, with a space shortage.1 about the potential effects of adding the vol. 47, no. 3, pp. 256–264 In addition to identifying obsolete science reference collection into a space © 2008 American Library Association. and unused books to be removed from that was already rather crowded. They All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce for the collection, other objectives were to did not want to lose any of the seating nonprofit, educational use. identify missing titles and volumes, su- in the reference area and did not want 256 | Reference & User Services Quarterly Weeding Gone Wild to replace the shelving in the reference area with Some types of questions were not asked at the compact shelving. Both had been suggested as pos- reference desk any longer, and this lack of inter- sible solutions to the impending space problem. est resulted in cancellations of the corresponding Staff discussed the changes in reference ser- types of books used to answer those questions. vices and resources brought about by improved Directories were particularly affected. Even such technology and the move to online publishing. standard sources as Congressional Yellow Book and Students and faculty have developed an insatiable the Washington Information Directory were receiving appetite for online resources, changing the types little use, although other directories such as the of questions asked and the forms those questions Encyclopedia of Associations and the Gale Directory take. There has been a noticeable diminution in of Publications still retained some usefulness. Other ready reference questions, although the number of sources were no longer useful due to changes in these questions was easily replaced by requests for the curriculum: courses were dropped or entire help with computer and printer problems. programs changed focus. As remote users proliferated, online resources Some sources had been replaced by online replaced some of the familiar print ones. By 2005, databases, such as Facts on File and CQ Researcher. the BGSU libraries had replaced a substantial In some cases, the paper resource did not have number of print resources with online books, pe- an exact equivalent, but the type of information riodicals, and research databases. The availability contained in the paper set was now available in of e-mail and chat reference service accelerated the one or more online databases, and the paper set migration from print to online resources. was rarely used, such as Editorials on File and the The reference librarians had just finished a majority of the law reporters in the collection. major review of standing orders and were acutely Of course, the libraries had replaced many paper aware of how many formerly essential reference indexes with research databases. The librarians sources were now receiving little or no use. The decided to cancel some additional subscriptions to discussions for this review included a consideration paper indexes either because most of the journals of the purpose of the reference collection. Mathews covered were included in other databases, or there and Tyckoson identify two opposing philosophies was a database that was close enough in content of reference collection development. One, based on that students and faculty had stopped using the format, holds that any book that is formatted as a paper index. reference book, such as a handbook, encyclopedia, Harloe and Barber recommend that as many dictionary, or almanac, should be in the reference questions as possible about reference serials collection. The other theory is based on usage. should be settled before a review of the reference Proponents of this theory believe the reference col- collection takes place because these decisions can lection should include resources that contain the be very time-consuming.6 The discussions that information needed to answer the reference ques- accompanied the review of the standing orders tions expected at a particular library.5 The consensus and subscriptions were an excellent precursor among the reference librarians was that the library to a complete review of the reference collection needed a reference collection that would conform because they helped define and solidify a general to the second theory, based on usage. consensus about what should and should not be in the collection. One article that was particularly Review of Standing Orders useful in framing some discussions was Tyckoson’s And SubscriptionS “Facts Go Online,” where the author examined the current use of a list of core reference titles he had During the 2004–2005 academic year, the reference compiled a decade earlier and determined that librarians reviewed the reference standing orders most of them were now rarely used because of the and subscriptions. Although the reference budget increased use of the Internet and databases. As a had increased in recent years, the cost of reference result of his findings, Tyckson speculated on the materials seemed to have risen even faster. The ref- current and future usefulness of a print reference erence staff also did not want to allocate any por- collection.7 tion of the reference budget to titles that were no longer used. Because of the high demand for online The Reference Collection resources, the staff also wanted to shift some of the Development Plan budget allocation from print to electronic format. Throughout the spring semester, the refer- The Reference Collection Development Plan had ence librarians examined the standing orders and been completed ten years before this review was determined which titles were no longer used. performed. It provided detailed information about volume 47, issue 3 | 257 Feature what should be purchased for each curriculum When libraries plan to do “crisis weeding,” a area. This plan was still helpful, but some sections common practice is to pay strictest attention to needed to be revised. Ideally, this plan would have large sets and thicker volumes to gain the great- been revised during the summer and the review of est amount of space with the least effort. Another the collection would have been accomplished dur- tendency when space is a primary consideration is ing the fall semester. To complete the review in the to weed the areas that are most in need of weeding, time available, the review had to be done during specifically the areas where more books are be- the summer when there were fewer students and ing purchased. Sections of shelving that have less faculty using the collection and when the reference activity may be left alone.11 Although we planned librarians had more time to devote to this project. to remove some large sets from the shelves, we Therefore the revision of the collection develop- wanted to be comprehensive and planned to con- ment plan had to be postponed until after the duct a title-by-title review.