deselecting the monographs collection: one library’s adventure in weeding
DESCRIPTION
Thursday, November 4, 2010 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM Speakers: Margaret Foote - Eastern Kentucky University; Betina Gardner - Eastern Kentucky University During the past several years librarians at Eastern Kentucky University came to realize that the monographs collection – the core, with print journals, of the library’s research services for decades – needed attention. Problems with mold, issues with lack of space, and a growing awareness that the collection was becoming outdated and little-used in a number of academic disciplines led librarians to conclude that the time had come to deselect titles from the monographs collection. In this session we would like to share with attendees how we proceeded with our weed and what we have learned from our ongoing deselection process in the hopes that our experience will be of value to others. We began our weed in May 2010 by setting two goals. First, we would deselect titles that no longer serve the twenty-first century curriculum of Eastern Kentucky University. Second, we would preserve those titles that do support the curriculum as well as those titles unique to our collection. To achieve these goals we decided to create cohorts of librarians in the areas of humanities, sciences, and social sciences; members could use each other as sounding boards for weeding techniques. We agreed that librarians should incorporate weeding into their regular work flow. We have examined data about the various disciplines on campus so we would have a clear idea of what to weed. Disposal of titles have included a number of solutions, from the recycle bin for books in ragged condition to sending volumes to various organizations including state prisons. Our project is ongoing; we hope to complete the weed by August 2011. Attendees to this session are invited to share their deselection problems and solutions as a part of this presentation.TRANSCRIPT
DESELECTING THE MONOGRAPHS
COLLECTION: ONE LIBRARY’S ADVENTURE
IN WEEDING
Margaret Foote, Coordinator of Collection ServicesBetina Gardner, Coordinator of Public Services
Eastern Kentucky University Libraries
30th Annual Charleston ConferenceNovember 4, 2010
EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY Founded in 1906 as a teacher’s college to
serve the needs of the people of eastern Kentucky.
Teacher education remains the core mission; other important programs include nursing, law enforcement
Library comprises a main library that houses the education library, plus several branches: music, justice and safety, business and technology commons.
EKU: 1906-2006-2106
Doctoral program in Higher Education; possible additional doctoral programs
Greater emphasis on distance education classes and online classes
Print resources giving way to electronic resources
What will the future hold? Library needs to support that future with current resources
DISCOVERING OUR WEEDS Question: Are duplicate copies of older titles
necessary for the collection? Accreditation, or, we’d better get rid of the
outdated nursing books now Repurposing branches
Justice & Safety Library developing into a combined library and computer lab
Renovation of Music Library leads to careful thought about space and collection
One last critical reason . . . . .
MOLD!
CULTURAL ASPECT OF THE WEED What moves us forward? EKU
Libraries will be a leader among academic libraries by providing excellent services and resources that embrace the digital age, by stewarding EKU collections and scholarship for a global audience, and by cultivating environments that inspire learning and creativity.
CULTURAL ASPECT OF THE WEED Rabid v. resistant, “Not a one size fits all” solution Trust Cohorts Kick off – all on the table http://libguides.eku.edu/weed
WEEDING PROCEDURES The mark of the red X. Removing titles in a timely fashion: a
partnership between the shelving team and the copy catalogers.
Removing the titles from the database
Where do the discards go?Those in the worst shape are
recycled Better World Books Kentucky prisons
CONCLUSIONS Process is still ongoing Difference in collection: sections are more
current, particularly in the sciences and social sciences
Collection content closer to meeting the academic needs of the EKU community of students, faculty, staff, and others.
Can rededicate space for new purposes Can continue to review collection content in
the future and maintain a better quality
