Re: weeding thread

["Joanne E. Ladewig" <shatz@LIGHTSIDE.COM>]

Netters:

Many have already posted excellent responses to the "weeding" thread Jenni
began, but I felt that sharing the following might prove helpful for some
of you - especially those who need some back-up when confronted by a
principal who doesn't understand WHY we weed.

About six years ago, our district eliminated its centralized collection of
materials. A group of library staffers sorted the books into groups and
sent several boxes to each elementary school in the district. At my site I
went through the boxes and selected less than one box total as suitable for
adding to the collection. I placed the rest in the staff room for teachers
to select from for their classroom shelves. Two weeks later I dumped the
vast majority into the school dumpster. Why weren't these books sent
"somewhere" where they could be "used and appreciated," you ask? Because
they were no longer of interest or value to ANYONE. The old, yellowed pages
and the old, stereotypical black and white photos were hardly enticing to
anyone other than an occasional bug!

A while later I re-examined the contents of the "salvage" box, and decided
they really weren't worth my time to have cards typed up for, and I
disposed of them.

Yet some schools DID dutifully type up cards for them (most of the schools
in my district are not automated yet), file all the cards, and shelve the
books with the rest of the collection. Did they add quantity to the
collection? Yes. Did they add quality to the collection? NO! Did the
children or teachers check them out? NO! Now, six years later, I am hearing
from sites that shelved these books and what I'm hearing is that it was a
WASTE of time and (wo)man power to process them! They are being weeded
again - but this time they HOPEFULLY won't end up wasting shelf space in
the classroom, or anywhere else!

Dear friends, do we keep kitchen garbage? No! Do we keep smelly dead things
because they were once useful or cherished? No! To pass on worthless books
is to INSULT those we are trying to help. I am reminded of the lady who
saved her "used just once" tea bags, dried them out, then paid the shipping
to sent them overseas . . . Why? To "share" them with the "poor
missionaries!"

Whether it be our own students, or someone else's, let's make sure that the
gift is WORTH receiving! I doubt that any missionary anywhere ever
appreciated the amount of personal "self-sacrifice" that sending used tea
bags represented! And inspiring children to be life-long learners DOESN'T
happen if we fill our library or classroom shelves with cast-offs that have
no interest value!

Just some thoughts from a "reformed" (I hope! I'm sure trying!) "junk
junkie" and book lover!

Joanne Ladewig
Information Center Director
Fairgrove Academy - a K-8 public school focusing on
   the Visual and Performing Arts, and Technology
La Puente, California, USA
jladewig@ns700-1.enet.hlpusd.k12.ca.us
or:  shatz@lightside.com

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