"Librarians have a responsibility for discarding unsound books of yesteryear. In the eyes of the public, the fact that they are on the shelves confers upon them an endorsement."--Clarke, G. E. "Propaganda." Library World, 42:62-63, October 1939.

Weeding in Libraries

A Partial Index to What's Out There

• Collection Development Training for Arizona Libraries--CDT --a comprehensive site
• Weeding the Library Media Center Collections--State of Iowa, Department of Education
• Sample Policies--Wood Place Public Library
• Weed It! article by Karen Klopfer of Western Massachusettes Regional Library System
• Weeding Course from the Alternate Basic Library Education/ABLE Courses at the Idaho State Library
• Library U Courses--Weeding a Part of Collection Management in Your School& Weeding the Library Collection
• Selection Criteria for School Library Media Center Collections including Weeding: Reassessment of Library Media Collections, Baltimore City, Maryland Public School System, Office of Instructional Technology, Library & Media Services
• Weeding Powerpoint, Jefferson County, Kentucky Public Schools -- Weeding Manual, Jefferson County, Kentucky Public Schools
• Material Deselection Policy of the Hamilton Public Library--Ontario, Canada -- Adult Print Non-Fiction Collection Deselection Guidelines Charts by Dewey -- Guidelines for the Retention/Removal of Adult Material from the Collection
• ACQWEB at Appalachian State University Library/Information Science
• 3M's Digital ID System
• Library of Congress Collection Development & the Internet ListServ List
• A Toolkit of Links & Documents for Collection Development & Management Librarians, Lockwood Memorial Library, State University of New York at Buffalo
• Beloit Public Library Wisconsin Weeding Policy
• Collection Development Policy Guidelines for School Library Media Programs, Montana State Library
• Evergreen State College Archives Mission Statement/Policy
• Guidelines for Weeding Library Materials--Alachua County, Florida
• Collection Development Policy and Procedures--Collection Maintenance, Chesterfield County, Virginia Public Library
• Williamsburg, Virginia, Regional Library Collection Management Handbook
• Weeding as a part of collection development by Pamela K. Kramer, 2002
• Weeding the Fiction Collection: Should I Dump Peyton Place? Overbooked--Book Links: ALA/RUSA/CODES--RUSA Collection Development and Evaluation Section, Readers Advisory Committee, Collection Development Policies Committee
• Weeding the Reference Collection: a Review of the Literature by Charles D. Bernholz
• Sunlink Weed of the Month Club
• Weeding Library Collections: A Selected Annotated Bibliography for Library Collection Evaluation--ALA Library Fact Sheet Number 15
• OPAL--Ohio Private Academic Libraries--Weeding Guidelines
• Milwaukee School of Engineering Library Book Weeding
• Morton Grove Public Library, IL--Collection development and management policy

A Short Bibliography of Weeding Tools, Articles, & How To's

• Boon, Belinda. The CREW method: expanded guidelines for collection evaluation and weeding for small and medium-sized public libraries. Revised and updated. Austin: Texas State Library, 1995.
• Dilevka, Juris & Lisa Gottlieb. Weed to achieve: a fundemental part of the public library mission? Library collections, acquisitions, & technical services 27 (2003), 73-96
• Dreyer, Sharon Spredemann. The Bookfinder: a guide to children's literature about the needs and problems of youth aged 2 and up. Volume 4 annotation of books published 1983 through 1986. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service, 1989. Look for other volumes in this series (Volume 5, 1994).
• Gwinnett County (GA) Public Library Weeding Manual. 2nd edition. Chicago: PLA, 2002.
• Granger's index to poetry. New York: Columbia University Press.
• H. W. Wilson Company Library Catalog series, Index to Children's Poetry, Play Index, Short Story Index, etc.
• Hearne, Betsy Gould and Deborah Stevenson. Choosing books for children : a commonsense guide. 3rd edition.Urbana, Ill. : University of Illinois Press, 2000, C.1999. ISBN: 0-25206-9285.
• Herald, Diana Tixier. Genreflecting: a guide to reading interests in genre fiction. 5th edition. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2000. ISBN 1-56308-6387.
• Herald, Diana Tixier. Teen genreflecting. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2003. ISBN 1-56308-9963.
• Johnson, Douglas A. "Weeding a neglected collection." School Library Journal, November 1990, p. 48.
• Libraries Unlimited Best Books for. . .Series, A to Zoo, & Genreflecting series.
• Local lists used in school districts, such as recommended reading lists and Accelerated Reader lists.
• National Council of Teachers of English series--includes Adventuring with books: a booklist for pre-K--grade 6, Your reading: a booklist for junior high and middle school students, and Books for you: a booklist for senior high students.
• The Newbery and Caldecott awards: a guide to the medal and honor books. 2004 edition. Association for Library Service to Children. Chicago: ALA, 2004. Annual. ISSN 1070-4493.
• Segal, Joseph. The CREW manual: a unified system of weeding, inventory, and collection-building for small and medium-sized public libraries. Texas State Library and Fort Worth Major Resource System, 1976. Chicago: ALA, 1980.
• Slote, Stanley J. Weeding library collections: library weeding methods. 4th edition. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1997.
• Volz, Bridget Dealy, Cheryl Perkins Scheer, and Lynda Blackburn Welborn. Junior genreflecting: a guide to good reads and series fiction for children. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2000. ISBN 1-56308-556-9.
• Winkle, Lois and Sue Kimmel. Mother Goose comes first: an annotated guide to the best books and recordings for your preschool child. New York: Henry Holt, 1990. ISBN 0-8050-1001-7.

Contact Information about the Weeding Workshop & the Presenters:

Ron WinnerYouth Services Consultant, FSCS Data Coordinator, Illinois State Library
Mary Downing Specialized Services Consultant, Illinois State Library
Nancy Iona Glick Director, Havana Public Library District
Martha Troxell RSA Database Manager & Training Coordinator