Weeding Worksheet

Weeding Your Church Library: An Integral Part of Collection Development Pacific Northwest Association of Church Libraries Annual Conference July 18-19, 2014

Presenter: Shirley Solberg Librarian, First Presbyterian Church, Everett, WA [email protected] 425-252-2706

Ezra Pound: “The weeder is supremely needed if the garden of the Muses is to persist as a garden.” A B C of Reading (1934) Long Form Weeding (or “deselection”) Use for a larger collection, when you have some help, when the collection has not been formally weeded for a long time, when you can focus on weeding as a priority for a period of time, when you build it into an annual schedule.

Short Form Weeding When your collection is small and weeding has been taking place continuously, when you must do it “on the fly,” when you are the sole weeder. Use as much of the long form weeding as fits your situation. Don’t embark on a guilt trip which may paralyze your functioning.

Prepare for the Process Refresh your spiritual roots

“Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might...” Ecclesiastes 9:10

“Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord...” Colossians 3:23

“Of making many books there is no end.” Ecclesiastes 12:12

“There are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” John 21:25

“Be strong and very courageous.” Joshua 1: 6, 7, 9

Review your congregational directory so you are in touch with your potential patrons. Revisit (or revise, or compose) your church library collection development policy (see details below). Recommit to your goal of creating, maintaining and promoting a library that is:

Vibrant Attractive Sound Edifying

Is your goal a lively, nourishing, circulating treasury of books or a museum for solid but seldom used tomes?

“If you don’t know where you are going you will probably end up somewhere else.” Zig Ziglar

1 Why weed? Save space and time. Enhance appearance. Preserve reputation for reliability and currency. Learn which items need repair or promotion. Discover collection’s strengths and weaknesses.

What to weed

Joseph P. Segal’s acronyms CREW and MUSTY (from Evaluating and Weeding Collections in Small and Medium Public Libraries: the CREW Method, American Library Association, Chicago; originally The CREW Manual, Texas State Library, 1976, 1979) have become classic weeding procedures and criteria for de-selection.. CREW approach to weeding (or de-selecting, pruning) Continuous Review Evaluation Weeding

Classic weeding criterion: 10/3 MUSTY [More than 10 years old; hasn’t circulated in past 3 years and has 1 or more MUSTY factors] Misleading (inaccurate, outdated or insensitive terminology or illustrations) Ugly (yellowed, brittle pages; poor binding; stained, worn cover, etc.) Superseded (newer & better edition available; too many copies) Trivial (minimal intrinsic value; easily available elsewhere) You (sense it doesn’t fit: irrelevant to this congregation, etc.)

What NOT to weed (considerations, not absolutes!) Classic Autographed Irreplaceable (availability of funds as well as of material) Local author or setting (uniquely relevant to this congregation or community) Volumes of sets and series with special merit Older reference works augmented by (not superseded by) later editions

2 What stands in the way of weeding Procrastination Resistance by volunteers, users, administrators Reluctance to admit selection mistakes Time constraints Budget constraints Fear of making mistakes or being criticized (count on it; remember Joshua!) Prevalent myths: “All books are sacred.” “Anything is better than nothing.”

When to weed

Informal - “Short form” “On the fly” continuously be alert to items which have outlived their usefulness. Pull items as noted; remove from database; discard.

Formal - “Long form” Schedule a special time when library use is light and assistance is available. Consider dividing collection into sections and rotating to do 1 a year. Close library (with adequate warning and explanation). Have volunteers, staff available. Have access to circulation statistics for each volume. Have a plan and resources for disposition.

How to proceed with weeding Choose a time. Assemble and train assistants. Outline your plan. State criteria clearly. Survey the collection, section by section / book by book. Pull books to be removed. Delete from your database - or pull catalog cards (and remove from any lists). Remove library markings neatly and clearly. Remove weeded materials from premises (see “Disposition” below).

Disposition of weeded items Be discreet. Items of possible revived value: Mend, rebind, replace, promote Archive “quaint and curious volumes of forgotten lore”?

3 Items with no apparent value: Destroy [recycle paper], preferably off site Value to someone else: Consider antiquarian value (see suggestions below). Consider offering back to family if donated or memorials (Be sensitive!) Donate or trade to another library. Make available for sale: congregation, store or consignment. Remove from premises. Possible resources for books of value: http://www.alibris.com/

Before you weed Read the shelves. Inventory /evaluate the library’s holdings. Survey book lists.

Revisit (or edit, or develop) your library’s collection development policy:

Make weeding part of a collection development policy that lists clear standards and assigns responsibility.

Keep potential future weeding in mind when adding new items, especially donations. Clarify the policy when accepting donations.

Remember your goals for the collection.

Consider denominational and theological trends and current congregational concerns.

Check the rich, abundant resources for exemplary library policies including portions about collection development and especially weeding that are available online. Google it!

Online resources for weeding A few EXAMPLES: ...... ATTACK YOUR COLLECTION: Weeding with updated CREW “This is a presentation for a weeding workshop I do for school libraries called Attack Your Collection. It's based on an easy weeding method called CREW, from the Texas State Library & Archives Commission.” Dawn Krause, Texas State Library & Archives.

A comprehensive, ready-to-go, slideshow on major aspects of weeding. Well worth your time. View it yourself and make it part of your volunteer orientation.

*** http://www.slideshare.net/dvogler3/attack-your-collection-weeding-with-crew *** ......

4 Book lists for collection development http://bookriot.com/2013/07/10/the-10-best-top-100-book-lists/ Links to top picks

Google: “list of classic Christian books” There are many, many, many lists of classics, 25 books every Christian should read, top 10 Christian books, etc.

Add “children” or “youth” to your search terms and see many more.

Or develop your own. The process of compiling lists and policies can be at least as important as the product. Compose wish list of your own. http://pccowboychurch.org/documents/library_policy.pdf Sample of comprehensive library policy. Your policy needs to reflect the mission and character of your congregation. Reading several online policies will suggest some guidelines. http://www.sjcissaquah.org/storage/Saint%20Joseph%20Library%20Manual%20Completed %203-6-12%20_2_.pdf Sample concise policy addressing theological concerns (in this case Catholic) and handling of challenges. http://www.welslibrarians.org/site/cpage.asp?cpage_id=180013513&sec_id=180005111 Links to sources for selection and deselection along with concise guidelines (Wisconsin Lutheran) http://www.ala.org/tools/libfactsheets/alalibraryfactsheet15 An annotated guide to many online weeding resources http://lili.org/forlibs/ce/able/course4/05criteria.htm Comprehensive weeding guide geared to public school libraries

** SPECIFIC TO CHURCH LIBRARIES [Google “church library weeding”] http://www.churchlibraries.org/Docs/members/Weeding.pdf Professional, concise, step-by-step guide (basis for many points in this presentation) http://mennowdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/LibraryWeeding.pdf One-page doc for church libraries http://www.resourcemate.com/file.aspx?id=9f1fac3b-bd08-4b36-908a-7faaee29e206 Bright, broad, lively with a Canadian flavor (flavour)

5 Additional Notes for Special Weeding Situations

Hardest areas to weed 600s e.g. cookbooks 700s picture books classics

Special criteria for Juvenile & Young Adult Format Content and vocabulary appropriate for age and denomination / congregation Reading level Current interest in subject matter Jacket / cover illustrations Fiction: Offer full text rather than abridged classics. Examine individual titles in series books. Nonfiction: Note currency of information (not only publication dates). Offer different points of view and measured, respectful treatment for controversial topics.

Special criteria for periodicals

Current use Indexing Available space Alternate formats (online)

Special considerations for weeding reference materials Older editions may be superseded Periodic review of need

Special considerations for weeding media: CREW “WORST” acronym for Media Essentially same criteria as books + format consideration [VHS tapes have given way to DVDs] Worn out Out-of-date Rarely used Supplied elsewhere Trivial or faddish

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