The deletion of obsolete
materials and the decision to replace or to discard lost or damaged materials
are integral parts of the collection-development process. Weeding usually occurs in the course of
inventory or reclassification.
Candidates for weeding are:
1)
glaringly obsolete materials in areas of the collection where the
potential historical value of materials is not a consideration
2)
duplicate copies not justified by circulation
3) the
older editions of materials which the library owns in several editions
4)
materials in poor condition which are not judged to be worth rebinding or
repairing.
If the staff conducts a
systematic weeding or shelfreading effort in a given subject area, the materials
pulled from the shelves are set aside for review by library liaisons in assigned
subject areas. The following steps are taken prior to the review (see attached
form):
2) the
item is checked for number of circulations
3) the
item is checked against two editions of Books for College Libraries
4) the
item is checked against Books-in-Print for available purchase
5) if the
item is not still in print, the item is checked against out-of-print vendors’
lists for replacement or suggested monetary value
The library liaison may also
consider other factors such as, the item's inclusion in other standard lists of
recommended titles, the strength of the collection in the particular subject
area, and the availability of funds.
1) the
item is retained and placed back on the shelf
2) the
item is retained, but placed in storage
3) the
item is sent to the bindery if repairable
4) the
item is repaired in-house if possible
5) the
item is replaced with the same or newer edition and then discarded
6) the
item is placed in the fragile area or in a phase box
7) the
item is discarded and deleted from the database
When an item is reported
missing, the circulation department continues to search periodically for these
items. If an item has not reappeared within two years' time, it is considered
lost and the search slip forwarded to the library liaison who must decide
whether the item should be replaced or discarded.
If the item is to be
retained, the item should be given to a circulation staff member to note any
changes to the item screen as to location and placed back in the general
collection.
If the item is to be
rebound, it is given to the Serials Assistant [
] who will note the change in status and follow binding procedures.
If the item is to be
replaced, the item is given to the Acquisitions Assistant [
] who will then place an order for another copy. The item will be placed
on the “Replacement” shelf until the replacement has arrived and both copies
will then be given to a cataloguer [
] for database maintenance.
If the item is to be
discarded, the item will be placed on the “Discard” shelf. Discards will be
handled by the Records Manager [
].
If an item is to be
considered “fragile” or requires additional preservation methods, the item is
given to the “Archivist & Records Manager” [
].
PROCEDURES FOR DISCARDING MATERIALS
If
a book to be discarded contains a gift plate, it should be flagged with a
special note and placed on Lydia's discard shelves.
When making a decision on
whether or not to discard a book that has been written by a famous author,
historian or educator, or that is a first edition, signed copy, or a book
published around the turn of the Twentieth Century please leave the book with
Lydia. She will do some research to help determine the value of the item. A decision will then be made on whether
the book should be discarded, placed in the fragile collection or in special
collections. If a book that we wish
to keep is in poor condition it should go to Bridget Clark, who will measure it
for a phase box. Books awaiting
phase boxes that are made by the bindery are kept on shelves near Bridget's
desk.
Books that are to be taken
out of the Library's collection are placed on the shelves in the Technical
Services Room that have been labeled for discards.
DELETING ITEM AND BIB
RECORDS FROM READPAC
See Section on Deleting Item and Bib records.