For Joyce and others -
Joyce,
You posted:
"Here is what happens: when I am not sure where to place a book, I check
other libraries on the Internet. I often find a variety of choices and
the problem is, I don't know how to settle the question for myself. To
complicate the matter, much of my collection is old."
Are you really sure your time is worth cataloging those old books? Unless
these are WONDERFUL old classic folk tales or children's picture books,
they're probably NOT worth your time, or your students' time! Please
consider that the time you spend might be far better invested in grant
writing or getting parents to do a donation program or fund raiser for new
books. I just saw an article about a school that got many of the titles on
its "wish list" from parents and community members after the school posted
a list on Amazon.com . Please consider it!
Let me add that I speak from experience: You will probably find that few of
the old books you shelve will end up circulating - kids prefer new-looking
books ten-to-one. As you do get new books, you will find yourself weeding
the old junk you cataloged and wondering why you bothered!
If the nonfiction is so old it doesn't have CIP to guide you (although I
find that new books printed in the U.K. or in Europe in English don't have
CIP), it's really a disservice to put it on the shelf. In fact, most Dewey
categories (especially science) should be less than 10 years past the
copyright date, and anything more than 20 (except folk and fairy tales, &
poetry)years past the copyright (unless its a special collection of local
history, etc.) should warrant a visit from the local "Library Police!"
<wink!> and haul them off to the local dumpster!
I put in some more specific guidelines for you from a weeding brochure
below.
Additionally, when administrators, potential donors, etc. come into your
library and see shelves that APPEAR to be full of books, they don't think
of your site as needing more - after all, you have "plenty" of books. What
they are really seeing is a "dead book" warehouse - they just don't realize
it!
When I took over my current site, I discovered that a lot of the old books
that weren't circulating (I could see why from the covers and insides -
faded, old, boring)had not been originally purchased for the school
library. In the back of the books were stamp marks indicating that these
books had been previously DISCARDED from a local public library! They
hadn't been weeded due to use, but rather LACK of use, despite the often
"glowing" reviews printed on them! Some well-meaning person did a great
DISSERVICE to our school by donating them! They probably did more to "turn
off" potential readers than having a smaller, but more attractive
collection would have.
By the way, I just weeded my flower garden this morning. I tore out a lot
of brown-leafed and overgrown flowers which from my kitchen window view
still had lots of colorful flowers as well as "dead heads." But from my
kneeling position in the beds, I could see that many other new flowers were
overshadowed by them and competing against their roots. I yanked the spent
flowers and in a few weeks I'll have lots of new flowers I would have never
seen with all the old stuff still there. It's the same with a library, so
don't feel guilty weeding or NOT adding weeds in the first place!
From a weeding brochure from the Dept. of Education in California:
000 2 - 10 years 500 5 - 10 years
100 10 " 600 5 - 10 "
200 2 - 10 " 700 5 - 15 "
300 5 - 10 "* 800 flexible
400 10 " 900 15 years
*the bulletin doesn't mention the 398 range specifically but most people
won't want to weed the folk and fairy tales unless there are specific
reasons - racial stereotypes might be a problem in some. Drab (faded,
dated) illustrations discourage potential readers.
I like to do comparisons of the same or variations of the same story or
illustration style, so often older tales come in handy. Do however,
continue to buy new ones - there are some really great new editions out
there now. I purchased about 40 this year and the kids and teachers are
just thrilled with them!
Joanne Ladewig, Library Media Technician (A.K.A. "Library Lady")
Lawrence Elementary, GGUSD Garden Grove, California
shatz1@earthlink.net
" You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world
to one person."
- - - comments are my own and may not reflect those of my employer- - -
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