BLOGS > MAY 8, 2024
As we get close to the end of the school year, we start to think about processes that keep our library collection current, fresh and ready for new books and resources.
Weeding is where I like to start!
Weeding is the process of removing items from our collection. We have weeding policies that are tailored to fit the needs of our library collection, and are aligned with best practices. Being diligent and confident in weeding is key to a healthy collection.
As we come to an end to circulating books for the year, we need to think about weeding as we remove books to make room for new titles that are being published this spring, summer, and into the next school year. For example, we just places three big orders in Titlewave and these books will be coming soon. As we get ready for these orders, I think about making room for them on our shelves and being able to highlight them in the best possible ways for our readers and teachers.
This week, we started the weeding process by going through our collection and removing books that are damaged and wore like the ones shown above.
We are also removing multiple copies of books.
When we take these books of the shelves, I then go through them all of them to see what the circulation reports show on the multiple copies, and to make note of the damaged books to determine if we will order new copies or weed these books from our collection.
It's a process, but one that I enjoy because it means that we are making room for the new materials. It is a great way to kick off the new school year in the fall. Our students always love seeing the fresh shelves and what is new to read.
Over the next few weeks, I will be blogging about the steps we take in the weeding process within our school library. We take several steps and use various resources including the Follett Titlewise® Online Collection Analysis, which is a tool designed to help assess your library collection and identify strengths and areas of needs, and make decisions about purchases and weeding. It's one of the best tools we have as we advocate for our libraries and make our collections the best they can be.
Let's use this Padlet to share our weeding tips, tricks and procedures we have for our libraries. We can share advice, resources, tools, etc.. This is the perfect time of year to share, friends.
I hope you find these posts and tips helpful, friends. I can't wait to hear the weeding processes and procedures you have for your library collections too.
Shannon McClintock Miller
Innovation Director of Instructional Technology and Library Media
Van Meter Community School
Van Meter, Iowa
Shannon McClintock Miller is the Innovation Director of Instructional Technology and Library Media at Van Meter Community School in Van Meter, Iowa. She is also the Future Ready Librarians Spokesperson working with librarians, educators and students around the world every day as an international speaker, consultant and author who has a passion for education, librarianship, advocacy, technology, social media and making a difference in the world and lives of others, especially children. Shannon brings a special expertise and vision to conversations around school libraries, education, technology, creativity and student voice. Learn more about Shannon on her award-winning blog, The Library Voice. Follow her on Twitter @shannonmmiller.
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