Monday, March 23, 2020

A few thoughts on The Weeding Handbook: A Shelf-By-Shelf Guide

The Weeding Handbook: A Shelf-By-Shelf GuideThe Weeding Handbook: A Shelf-By-Shelf Guide by Rebecca Vnuk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a pacy and helpful book to read. When I worked in public libraries I always enjoyed weeding, and I think it has a key role in developing and maintaining library collections. Too often people are at extremes either weeding little or taking a slash and burn (or throw) approach with little regard to the actual statistics on use (or consideration of poor cataloguing or inadequate displays or even poorly managed selection). Vnuk also highlights the importance of informing the community so they are seeing you manage rather than pillage the collection.

This is a detailed booked looking at the different number classifications, however the most helpful sections are looking at the over all strategy of weeding, and references to other resources such as Crew and the examples from specific libraries mentioned within the book. While some of the material is slightly dated, the big picture information is still crucial. It also includes the need to manage your econtent selections.

I read this on Indyreads.

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