LM_NET: Library Media Networking
Dear LM_Netters,
Thanks for all the great suggestions! I immediately received many replies
on the day I sent in my question.
Thanks again,
DJ
I use ten years, with flexibility.
Pat Bartoshesky, Librarian - Applebart@aol.com - KidsConnect Volunteer
Saint Edmond's Academy (boys, Gr.4-8)
212 Veale Road, Wilmington, DE 19810
302-475-5370 FAX 302-475-2256
I think that it really depends upon the book, the subject area, availability
of newer material -- really, there are quite a lot of things to consider.
Also, some books are not checked out, but are often used in the library, or
checked into briefly or on occasion. Believe me, if I weeded everything
that hadn't been checked out of this Library in the last five years, I'd
have very little left.
Joanne Peters <jpeters@MINET.gov.MB.CA>
We have a rather old library. We started off with using a not used in three
years and changed to a not used in five years. From that point we choose
books that are used int he library but not checked out or that support the
curriculum. We keep all those and are saliciously weeding the rest. We will
convert to a new computer system this summer and have just found out that the
barcodes will come from out budget. We have started weeding with controlled
frenzy. The worst book so far was one that had not been checked out in 35
years. Our question is why was it kept during the initial automation ten
years ago.
Good luck with weeding.
Darla From: Jelinek121@aol.com
I've been giving this intense attention at my site, too. My only caution
would be to remember that just because a book isn't getting checked out
doesn't mean it isn't being used. It may be used like a reference book for
report information, so isn't checked out.
Or, perhaps it _should_ be used, but is unnoticed. Many books were
purchased before today's expectation that all things be bright &
eye-catching. I've found ways to "market" books that have been unjustly
ignored by featuring them in displays or pointing them out when classes or
individual students come in for material. Let's face it, one of the most
valuable services we provide is as role models for how exciting and
interesting an atlas of the U.S. in colonial/Revolutionary War times is, or
that great book I just discovered all about the presidents and what sports
they enjoyed. It stops at Lyndon Johnson, but as a source for our American
history & p.e. classes, it's tremendous!
I've developed an evaluation strategy that takes these factors into account
and I can move swiftly on a book-by-book basis.
Tammy LOsko
Librarian/Computer Skills Teacher
Andrew Carnegie Middle School
near Sacramento, California
tlosko@sanjuan.edu
It all depends on WHAT it is. A classic book shouldn't be
discarded, no matter how infrequently it is checked out. You should write
a weeding policy (or it could be in your collection development policy)
which addresses that issue.
Diane H. Albosta, Director
David H. March Library
Episcopal High School
Alexandria, Virginia
dalbosta@gmu.edu
I have found it hard to weed books, but it has to be done. I used a
10-year use date, but I think some are saying if it hasn't been checked
out in 5 years, pitch it. I also look at the appearance of the books.
Some are so old looking and need to go, especially if they are "ratty"
looking. Good luck!
Joan Turner, Media Specialist
Goodrich High School
8029 S. Gale Road
Goodrich,MI 48438
jturner@gfn.org
Do you mean not been used or not been checked out? We have several English
teachers that do not allow books to be checked out during research phase
because all periods need to use. These books are being used though. We put
them on a cart and check out to ourselves and then check-in so we know that
they are being used. SACS gives us a time limit for weeding so we use this
guideline to comply with accreditation.
One more thought - We had one media specialist delete many classics because
of the "time limit" and I had to repurchase when I was moved into the media
center. Some books may not be read or used but are wanted on the shelf.
From: Robyn Cason <Cason_R@popmail.firn.edu>
I am weeding now and anything that has not gone out since 1990 definately
goes and then I use my best judgment with 91, 92, 93. This is just my own
thinking and not based on much but my own ideas.
Michele Immordino
Library Media Specialist
Antheil School
Ewing, NJ
mimmordino@ewingboe.org
I don't weed that way at all except with fiction and then only if I'm
sure it's
not curriculum realted, i.e. stories of the American Revolution. Too many
items
in a high school get lots of in-house use but are never checked out.
From: Victoria DeFields <vdefield@remc11.k12.mi.us>
I am weeding now and anything that has not gone out since 1990 definately
goes and then I use my best judgment with 91, 92, 93. This is just my own
thinking and not based on much but my own ideas.
Michele Immordino
Library Media Specialist
Antheil School
Ewing, NJ
mimmordino@ewingboe.org
I don't weed that way at all except with fiction and then only if I'm
sure it's
not curriculum realted, i.e. stories of the American Revolution. Too many
items
in a high school get lots of in-house use but are never checked out.
From: Victoria DeFields <vdefield@remc11.k12.mi.us>
I don't weed strictly by use, but use it as a guide. 5 years
for nonfiction and 10 for fiction (fiction books cgo in cycles
and can make a big come back a few yers later). I keep many,
many award books, books listed in Children's Catalog and
elementary Library Collection(not the exact title), classics.
Once when I was a young lebrarian, I weed put several folk tale
collections because they haven't been read. Later I found out
I had weed out all the classics that contain stories that are
now very hard to find. I have been very careful since.
Consequetly, I have books in my fiction collection that are the
only copies in the entire county.
--
Debra Balsam
Taylor Elementary
Arlington, VA
703-358-6275
dbalsam@pen.k12.va.us
Years are dangerous guides unless you have a way of identifying
in-librfary use of materials. Much use does not equate with borrowing.
Some people stamp books that go onto reserve booktrucks just to have this
sort of record. Some materials are irreplaceable and should not be
tossed. Curriculum is cyclical. Teachers change and come back to areas
after a few years. Just be very careful with that number of years thing.
When the information contained is erroneous you might even put a handfull
of these books aside to show future classes that man really had not landed
on the moon.
Hilda L. Jay, LMS(Ret.) & Author
Collington Cottage 2108
10450 Lottsford Road
Bowie, MD 20721
hlj002@ns1.wmdc.edu
I go with 10 years and it works for us.
Richard Librarian
From: "Richard R. Shook" <rshook@edcen.ehhs.cmich.edu>
We've been giving this intense attention at my site, too. My only caution
would be to remember that just because a book isn't getting checked out
doesn't mean it isn't being used. It may be used like a reference book for
report information, so isn't checked out.
Or, perhaps it _should_ be used, but is unnoticed. Many books were
purchased before today's expectation that all things be bright &
eye-catching. I've found ways to "market" books that have been unjustly
ignored by featuring them in displays or pointing them out when classes or
individual students come in for material. Let's face it, one of the most
valuable services we provide is as role models for how exciting and
interesting an atlas of the U.S. in colonial/Revolutionary War times is, or
that great book I just discovered all about the presidents and what sports
they enjoyed. It stops at Lyndon Johnson, but as a source for our American
history & p.e. classes, it's tremendous!
I've developed an evaluation strategy that takes these factors into account
and I can move swiftly on a book-by-book basis.
It's especially important when I have these books at hand in the internet
lab I also support (adjoining rooms). Some historical figures, for
example, may have several name spellings, so without the books that tell us
that, we wouldn't be able to do justice to a good internet search.
Thanks for the opportunity to get on my soap box!
Tammy LOsko
Librarian/Computer Skills Teacher
Andrew Carnegie Middle School
near Sacramento, California
tlosko@sanjuan.edu
We use 3 years.
Bonnie Harrison
Director of Media Services
Douglas School District
Box Elder, SD 57719
bharrison@dsdk12.net
I have also seen books that have been on the shelf for many years suddenly
get used because the student has an interest in that particular topic. I
sometimes wonder about why I keep some books because of their age. But
some information, especially historical never goes out of date. Just
because the book is old or looks old is not a reason to discard it
sometimes.
John Meckler, Librarian
Plains Public School Library
Plains, MT 59859
jmeckler@montana.com
I carve, therefore I am!
Hi- You might want to start a LONELY BOOK Shelf- I did this- picked the
books I knew were great stories but because of the cover or whatever the
kido's did not read- I had some of the good readers read them and design
new covers! You night want to look at the web site
www.sunlink.ucf.edu/weed/- they tell you each month what section to weed!
Good luck! Be sure to look and see if they are AR books- other schools
would love them!
From: Susan Grimes <segrimes@worldnet.att.net>
>I have also seen books that have been on the shelf for many years
suddenly
>get used because the student has an interest in that particular
topic. I
>sometimes wonder about why I keep some books because of their age. But
>some information, especially historical never goes out of date. Just
>because the book is old or looks old is not a reason to discard it
>sometimes.
I very much agree... but I would remind us that historical information
can and often does go out of date. Thomas Jefferson serves as a good
example. Other times it's not so much the info itself but how it
is presented - bias and treatment. We also & sometimes find that
information was left out completely, information that we perhaps
at one time chose to overlook, gloss over or ignore. Think of
how Native Americans were treated in some texts not that many
years ago -- if they were included at all.
-|| Joni Rathbun, North Area Regional Media Specialist: jrathbun@orednet.org
|| Lincoln City, Oregon -- Lincoln County School District
|| Online Library: http://lincolncity.org/naims
|| If you need a vacation, you should see the state I'm in!
Five years is not too long in many cases. In the case of popular fiction,
maybe five years is a good measure, but there are often worthwhile books
that students have not discovered.
Therefore I say, consider the worth of the book first. For example, in
fiction, there are classics such as Little Women and The Secret Garden, or
various legends and folktales, or books of poetry, that may not be read
often, but don't look worn or dated, and are needed by good readers or
teachers' units from time to time. The same could be said of the less
popular Newbery Medal books. I was about to get rid of some of the least
read when a child came along who set as her goal to read every one of them.
(I nevertheless let go of the most old-fashioned, and replaced a few with
better-looking copies.) Also, the sequels to certain books may not often
be read, e.g.: Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain, C. S. Lewis'
Chronicles of Narnia, Le Guin's Earthsea Trilogy, but occasionally a child
comes along that wants to finish the whole series.
When it comes to non-fiction, you never know when some teacher will assign
an unusual topic for which you have a little-read but well written, not
outdated book. Or a child comes along and wants a book on, say, card
tricks. Or you might have a whole book on earthworms which has proved
useful occasionally for both invertebrate units and ecology units. Or a
good book on Marco Polo that hasn't been out for years because it isn't in
the curriculum, but when you have a kid who loves to read about explorers,
this may be just the book.
Consider also where the book has been housed. Is an apparently worthwhile
book sitting on a bottom shelf in a less used part of the library? Maybe
it needs greater exposure. Do you generally put the new books in a special
display until they have been borrowed twice, or have been on the New Books
shelf over six months? If so, you have given the book a running start, and
can feel more confidence in retiring the non-circulating five year veteran.
Good luck to you! Joan Kimball
Joan Kimball Librarian, Writer, Storyteller.
Clinton NY. jkim@borg.com
Tammy Ryan LOsko wrote:
> I've been giving this intense attention at my site, too. My only caution
> would be to remember that just because a book isn't getting checked out
> doesn't mean it isn't being used. It may be used like a reference book for
> report information, so isn't checked out.
I've posted this before, but I'll do it again for newer LM_NET members. One
successful way for marking books that are used for research but are not
checked
out is to purchase a stamp that says "Research 99" (the numbers rotate so you
can change years). Then have students bring the books they use but do not
check out to the desk to be stamped. At least you will know the last
year it
was last used in the library. We did that *each* time it was used
through the
year for research -- the number of times it was stamped showed how much that
particular volume was used.
Also, when a teacher brought classes to the library for a project, we
frequently put books on "reserve" carts so all his/her classes had
access. In
that case, we checked the books out to the teacher via the scanner. If a
book
disappeared off the cart, the teacher could help us to find it because he/she
listed the research topics of each student. By checking the books out to the
teacher and stamping "Research 99" we got to count the books as being
circulated and show that they had been used.
--
Betty
--
Betty Dawn Hamilton, LRS * mailto:bhamilt@worldnet.att.net
Librarian * TENET Master Trainer * News Group Moderator
LM_NET Internet Volunteer * Freelance Writer/Editor
TEXAS LIBRARY JOURNAL Contributing Editor
911 East Oak Street, Brownfield, Texas 79316
http://www.angelfire.com/tx/bhamilt
We use ten years for fiction and non-fiction and 1989 or before copyright.
If we used five, our collection would be in even worse shape.
Kay Goss
Director, Library Media Services
Mansfied R-IV Schools
Mansfield, Mo. 65704
417-924-4005
E-mail fup001@mail.connect.more.net
Good point Joni. It just shows-to-go ya that a librarians work is never
done. And just when you think that you have everthing figured out
something comes along to bring you back to reality. It is discussion like
this that really helps to get a better view of the big picture. We get so
caught up with our own daily workload that it gets hard to remember
everything. I know that I never get enough time to really weed or do most
of what needs to be done with maintenance of the library. But a step at a
time and good advice from many can only help to reach a level of quality
service to our students.
John Meckler, Librarian
Plains Public School Library
Plains, MT 59859
jmeckler@montana.com
I carve, therefore I am!
Some people carve their careers, others just chisel.
When I came to work at my present high school, lo, over 20 years ago, I was
scared to death to weed anything, so I didn't. I waited several years
until I had grasp of what the curriculum demanded and what the patterns of
use were. I also started inviting teachers in to 'read' the shelves in
their disciplines to help decide what was no longer current or even worthy
of staying on the shelves. What I discovered about social studies
teachers, God bless them, is that no book is too old-looking, too
out-of-date, too obscure, too erudite to be discarded. Ditto science
teachers. They don't want *anything* weeded. Every title has some value.
So I eventually stopped asking all but one, who was more realistic, to help
make decisions. Computer technology folk are also very definite about what
should stay and what should go.
Beyond that, I have often puzzled why some really good stuff just sat.
They were still included in the Senior High School Catalog, but they never
circulated. I then went in- to the catalog mode and saw why: many of
those titles had either no annotation or had an inadequate one. The
subject headings, too, were not very reflective of content. So I started
to update the records a bit and words to the annotation that might be
searched as keywords, and I toned up the subject headings. Granted, one
has little time to spend updating records, but occasionally, when I am
weeding, I'll stop to take a look at the catalog record, and update it.
I have to tell you that you guys are great - the idea about the '99' stamp
is terrific.
Thanks.
Leila Silverberg
Whitefish Bay High School
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
leilas@execpc.com
Leila Silverberg
Whitefish Bay High School
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
leilas@execpc.com
****************************************************************************
Diane Johnson
djohnson@esu3.esu3.k12.ne.us
WildSeymor@aol.com
Elementary Media Coordinator
Ralston Public Schools
8071 Ralston Avenue
Ralston, NE 68127-4245
402-331-1099, fax
402-597-6982, phone
****************************************************************************
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=
All postings to LM_NET are protected under copyright law.
To quit LM_NET (or set-reset NOMAIL or DIGEST), send email to:
listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER:
1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST
3) SET LM_NET MAIL * Please allow for confirmation from Listserv
For LM_NET Help & Archives see: http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=
LM_NET
Archive Home