Managing Print-Based Weeding Projects in Academic Libraries

Abstract

"Weeding" is the process of removing information resources from a collection. As a public relations quagmire, it is one of the most challenging tasks that an information manager may face. With the rise of election resources, printbased weeding projects are on the rise. It is integral that information managers have the necessary skills to carry out this endeavour. This paper examines the best practices for managing a print-based weeding project in an academic library, based on recent literature and the author's work experience. A set of recommendations for choosing material to remove, developing workflows, managing public relations and finding solutions for discarded material are put forward. Managing Print-Based Weeding Projects in Academic LibrariesAbout the Author: Hilary is a forward-thinking Information Management (IM) professional, with boundary-spanning skill sets that blend the library field and information technology needs of tomorrow. Hilary earned her Bachelor of Arts Honours in History and English at the University in Toronto. She then went on to pursue a Master's of European History at the University College London. As a current Master of Library and Information Studies candidate and an employee of Dalhousie Libraries, Hilary looks to take the best IM practices from the past, and apply them to build a better future using cutting-edge IM techniques. This paper was originally written for INFO 6560: Information Resources Management.

The Print Book Purging Predicament: Qualitative Techniques for a Balanced Collection

“…Humanities faculty and researchers in the humanistic social science disciplines are the most outspoken groups when libraries decide to mass weed print collections. Many librarians mistakenly believe this is simply an emotional attachment that must be handled through better public relations or achieving faculty "buy-in" (Agee, 2017;Lynd, 2015;Metz & Gray, 2005;Young, 2009). While public relations are important for any library project, the presenters' research has shown that the concerns expressed by faculty during such projects are thoughtful and reasonable (McAllister & Scherlen, 2017).…”

Weeding with Wisdom: Tuning Deselection of Print Monographs in Book-Reliant Disciplines

“…Of interest, library literature shows that less-than-positive reactions by librarians to professors wanting input into deselection of their book resources is common. Hence, there are plenty of articles offering librarian-to-librarian inside advice on controlling patron reactions and maintaining resolve against naysayers to assure completion of the weeding project (Metz and Gray 2005;Intner 2006;McCormack 2008;Young 2009;Lynd 2015). And too many weeding-related publications, it was discovered, are unfortunately short on self-criticism and long on anecdotes, cheerleading, and misplaced confidence, avoiding the uncomfortable question of whether users might be appropriate participants in the deselection process (Handis 2007;Raphael 2013).…”