LIS 511 Collection Development & Management: Weeding Exercise
For this assignment, I first wrote about the community demographics that can impact collection decisions, the library system's policies and guidelines for collection development, and what methodology I would use for the weeding exercise. I chose to weed the 700-750 section of the adult nonfiction collection at the Thayne Branch Library, which had 105 books. I ran a report listing all the books, the year they were published, date they were added to the collection, date of last checkout, and total lifetime circulation. I added columns for average yearly checkout rate, weeding decision, CREW criteria, and whether the item should be replaced. I used the CREW formula to determine which books to weed and replace. I also selected fourteen books to replace the weeded books. I finished with an outline of what I did and how I made my decisions.
REFLECTION
Understanding collection development is an essential part of working in the library and information profession. As the branch manager, I oversee the adult collections at the Thayne Branch Library, ensuring they remain relevant, diverse, and aligned with the needs of the community. Regularly evaluating the collection helps maintain a balanced and up-to-date collection. It removes outdated, damaged, or low-circulating books to make room for new ones. It improves the overall collection quality, makes it easier for patrons to find what they want, and keeps the shelves organized and visually appealing. The weeding process helps with budgeting decisions by ensuring funds are used to acquire books that will have the most significant impact.
When I began working as a library assistant, I was trained in the basics of weeding—identifying books that had not been checked out in the past three years and removing them. The branch manager at the time would assess them before deleting them from the system, but I was not involved in the decision-making. The CREW Manual outlines a much more detailed process that involves examining factors such as age, physical condition, circulation statistics, and subject matter to determine which books to keep, replace, or remove. It also considers the community's information needs and interests by analyzing which types of books are highly circulated. I also learned so much through this assignment and enjoyed the process. The results inspired my Master's Research Project to complete a collection analysis of the entire adult nonfiction collection of the Thayne Branch Library.