Weeding tips and advice

1. Weeding Red Flags
Poor Content
• Outdated and/or obsolete (computers, law, science, space, health, technology,
travel)
• Trivial subject matter (outdated popular culture)
• Mediocre writing style
• Inaccurate or false information
• Unused sets of books (keep used volumes if they meet local needs)
• Repetitious series
• Superseded editions
• Resources not on standard lists or that weren’t reviewed
• Materials that contain bias, racist, sexist terminology or views
• Self-published or small press titles that are not circulating, especially those
added as gifts
Unused Materials
• Non-circulating for 3-5 years
• Duplicate copies no longer needed
• Periodicals available full-text online
• Former “Hot topics” that have cooled down
• More books than needed on one topic
• Formats no longer popular (VHS)
• Material that is no longer important to the collection (curricula, demographics)
Appearance
• Worn out, or tattered
• Poorly made to begin with
• Dirty, marked up, warped, smelly, or damp
• Scratched or damaged CDs/DVDs

2. How Often Between Systematic Reviews?
Dewey Years
000 3 Biography 2
100 4 Fiction 2
200 5 Large Print 2
300 3 Paperbacks 1
400 5 Children’s 2
500 2 Young Adult 3
600 2 Scores 5
700 3 Media 2
800 5 Software 2
900 4