Weeding and New Stuff

Greetings,

Weeding is the term librarians use to describe the process of sifting through the collection and removing materials that are out of date or no longer necessary. This is done so that the library's users won't be given false or incorrect information in a book. Indeed, the accrediting bodies related to our college's programs often check to see that the materials in the library are current and up to date. Medical books in particular are removed in most cases no later than five years after their publication.

Often there are those who see this as a waste. My own father does not believe old encyclopedias should be discarded. The 'someone might get something out of them' argument is used to defend this position. But what if the 'something' were incorrect? This could potentially be harmful, particularly if it is medical information.

This week I have gone through the reference section at the Mountain View campus and have removed some items. These were items of a statistical nature for which we had a more recent version. A few other items I left on the shelf, but made a note to order the most recent version the next time I do a book order.

The weeding of the reference collection freed up some shelf space. I have decided to dedicate this space to the creation of a new materials section. This small area will house books that are new to the library. The idea is to make faculty and students more aware of the books' existence. Just one more way to promote our materials.

Remember friend, you can find out the new materials in the library's collection. Just go to the library's catalog. Click on the button that says 'new books,' located in the top left corner of the page. You will then be able find out the newest materials in the collection by campus.

JF