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I have really enjoyed reading some of these wonderfully supportive responses. Just recently a colleague in my district called because she was "under fire" about throwing out these books. My colleague wanted to know what we use for guidelines besides "those dewey years and stuff." I quickly shared with her the types of information that I really thought she should have already known. I believe the librarian must be proactive, and sometimes there is an old, gem of a book that only the 20+ year vet knows about anyway. If you are told about that one book it's okay to keep that, but a thinner, leaner, newer collection is always best. Students only pick out the new books anyway. Today a Kindergarten student asked me for a unicorn book. We've had a run on them recently. The only one left on the shelves today is a good story by Bruce Coville, but it is old and has b/w illustrations. She rejected it immeadiately because "those pictures aren't in color. Do you have any ballerina books?" I was able to find something she liked. Thank goodness. We must know our business and always be ready with the best possible words to explain this thing we call weeding. Librarians are the people who know collection development and understand what is best, but we will catch Hell if we don't have the right speech when the vets come snooping. "Glasgow, Joanne" <GlasgowJ@HSD401.ORG> wrote: Hi folks, This is just something I do and it has helped as a visual aid when explaining how important weeding can be. I keep a small, but "choice" shelf of weeded books that I refer to as my "Shelf of Shame". These are things so ridiculously out of date, politically incorrect or just plain awful that it illustrated the point better than any words I could express. My current favorite is "Modern Archeology Today" copyrighted 1930. I removed this from the shelves in 1994 when I was preparing for automating -- I got pretty brutal towards the end, but this one was too bad to actually send off! I did NOT keep "The Red Man in American" copyrighted 1908 -- it was so racist it mademe ill! Joanne Glasgow Teacher Librarian Evergreen HS Campus Seattle, WA ________________________________ From: School Library Media & Network Communications on behalf of Jennifer Davidson Sent: Fri 2/29/2008 12:13 PM To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU Subject: Re: [LM_NET] TARGET and VENT: Weeding issues and "sentimental value" My predecessor had never weeded anything as far as I could tell. She was very well-liked and I was concerned that I would be stepping in it if I didn't talk with my principal and staff about what I was going to do and why. I found that going over the MUSTY information and talking about how hard it is for kids to find the good books when there are so many extras helped a lot with the faculty, some of whom would have been quite resistant otherwise. We have done such a good job convincing teachers of the importance of books that it does take some deprogramming and explanation, IMO. It's hard for them to understand that not all books are valuable. I had a hard time weeding books that I enjoyed when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s, but that weren't attractive to kids today. To the extent possible, we allow the faculty to go through the discarded books first, then allow the students to each choose one or two, depending on how many are left. The books that aren't suitable to keep in the building (seriously outdated nonfic, for example) are boxed up and put in storage. This makes a difference in acceptance as well since the teachers feel the books are going to a 'good home.' I also found some very outdated books to use as examples, including an old bio of Stephen Foster with the word "d*rkies" in it (not as part of song lyrics, which would have been bad enough, but in the text!). My principal shared these with the supe and he about came unglued when she showed him the Stephen Foster book! For once, fear of being sued worked out in a favorable way for librarians! He shared these books with the board of ed. as well. Jenni Davidson Jenni Davidson jdavidson@solomon393.k12.ks.us Elementary Librarian/HS Spanish Solomon USD 393 Solomon, KS -----Original Message----- From: Cora V. Huggins [mailto:cvh002@SHSU.EDU] Sent: Friday, February 29, 2008 1:52 PM To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU Subject: Re: [LM_NET] TARGET and VENT: Weeding issues and "sentimental value" >Dear Meagan, I wish you well in your talks with the staff. You have made valid points. The library should serve the students and enhance the curriculum. I am a first year librarian and am working on my MLS degree. Like you, I work in a small school district with limited funds. Before I took the position, our library had been served by para-professionals for over a decade. This year alone, I have weeded over 650 books. I am still not done. (I call Wednesdays "Weeding Wednesdays.") Sometimes I feel a pang when I discard a book, and sometimes I've noticed questionable comments from some of the faculty. However, the many weeding guidelines (MUSTY), etc. give me confidence that I am doing the right thing. A collection must contain current information or it will not serve students or teachers. I hope that your school trusts you to use your professional skills to determine what is best for your library. I bet that you will get many responses from LM_Net that will help support your cause. Of course, you may always rely on ALA documents for help also. My advice would be to try to maintain positive relationships with your co-workers. They probably have good intentions, but do not understand the importance of your decisions. Your professionalism will help educate them. Good Luck! Cora Huggins (Librarian) Centerville Jr/Sr. High Centerville, TX 75833 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. 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To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL 3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation. * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/ * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://lm-net.info/ * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html * LM_NET Wiki: http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL 3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation. * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/ * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://lm-net.info/ * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html * LM_NET Wiki: http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------- Lisa Hunt, NBCT 2005 School Library Media Specialist Apple Creek Elementary Moore, OK lisa3moon@yahoo.com --------------------------------- Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL 3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation. * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/ * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://lm-net.info/ * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html * LM_NET Wiki: http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------------