Re: Weeding

[Betty Dawn Hamilton <bhamilt@TENET.EDU>]

>
> THEN I proceeded into the literature section.  There were SO many old
> collections and investigation showed they hadn't been checked out in
> years and I proceeded to weed them.  Before I tossed most of the (thank
 
Irene,
 
Several years ago at Middle School we had a surprise TEA (Texas Education
Agency) visit for accreditation.  Back then they randomly pulled books
from the shelves to see if they were current and being used.  I was
faulted for several books because they had not been checked out within
the last few years (one was a math history book).  When I looked at them, I
realized they had been used just the week before for research.  (Students
found and pulled the books and then left them on a reserve cart so all classes
doing research at that time could use the same books if they needed them.)
 
After TEA left, I ordered a stamp that said "Research" and the last 2
digits of the year that could be rotated for the next 8 years or so.  I
or my aide (or helpful students) then stamped every book on the reserve
cart each time that book was pulled from its place on the shelves.  That
way, anyone who looked at the book could tell how many times it had been
used for research and when.  We usually did the stamping right before we
put the books back on the shelf; that way, we were pretty sure to get
them all.
 
Of course, TEA doesn't check libraries like that any more, but it is
still helpful as you weed to have that stamp on the book.
 
Betty
Betty Dawn Hamilton
<bhamilt@tenet.edu>
Brownfield, Texas 79316