Clearinghouse of Professional Information

Collection Development Resources

"Weed 'em and Reap"

by Carmen Sprovieri, Susanna Hubbard Krimmer and Viola Poletes,
London Public Library

Withdrawal of material is an on-going process, which maintains and improves the attractiveness, currency, efficiency and vitality of all collections. Unnecessary items, outdated materials, materials no longer of interest or in demand, unneeded duplicates, worn or damaged copies are culled from the collection. Frequency of circulation, community and regional interest, intrinsic merit and availability of newer and more up-to-date materials are all factors which are considered in deciding whether to weed an item. Even the space required for new acquisitions coming into the collection may be a consideration in weeding. Fiction titles once popular but no longer in demand and likely available through other sources are candidates for withdrawal. The same criteria apply to the infrequently asked for and highly specialized works of nonfiction where a patron's needs may be met through interlibrary loan.

The withdrawal process, like the selection process, may be done with the aid of authoritative sources, recommended bibliographies, reviews, and the expert knowledge of the professionally trained staff. As with selection, not all criteria need be met nor does meeting the criteria automatically indicate an item should be discarded. Professional judgment of the librarian is crucial.

GENERAL CRITERIA FOR WEEDING

Assessment of the potential of any material for withdrawal might take into consideration a combination of the following general criteria:

Demand

a. Last date of circulation: Patron demand as shown by circulation is a factor to be considered. An item which has not circulated in recent years is not in active usage and, therefore, is a candidate for withdrawal.

b. Frequency of circulation: Past use statistics can indicate the usefulness of material. Estimates can be made of potential use based on these data. Accordingly, material with heavy past usage and current active usage are core collection volumes and not candidates for withdrawal.

c. Status of the item: Overdue items not returned after one or two years and items marked missing for more than one year are candidates for removal. Consideration should be given to replacing items deleted in this manner.

Timeliness

Age of material can be based on the publication, imprint or copyright date or acquisition date. Out-of-date materials may include materials no longer in demand, including duplicates of materials in decreased demand and superseded editions no longer used.

Value/Quality

Value judgements relate both to the larger universe of ideas and to local need and interest in those ideas. Criteria include, but are not limited to the following:

a. Subject matter, e.g. presentation or format as it relates to availability of other materials in the field, other items in the collection, or appropriateness for patron needs.

b. Historical importance, uniqueness or intrinsic merit of the material. Local materials, famous authors, classics and Canadiana require special consideration based on this criterion.

c. Individual monograph titles are judged on value/quality partially by appearance on standard lists or bibliographies or by the opinion of a specialist or group of specialists.

Physical Condition

If the material is damaged or worn it should be weeded, replaced or repaired depending upon how well it meets other criteria as described above.

WHAT TO DO WITH THE WITHDRAWN MATERIALS?

Once the assessment process has been completed and materials are weeded, the challenge is to do something with the material. London Public Library, like any other library, faces this challenge. London Public Library has a total collection of almost 1,150,000 items, with a library attendance of near 3 million and a circulation of over 3 million annually. It is one of the most well-used public institutions in the City of London. The Library consists of a large Central Library, which includes the Children's Library, and 15 branch libraries. Home Library Service extends the service to those users confined to their homes. The Library withdraws over 30,000 items per year.

COST OF RUNNING A BOOK SALE

To take care of the weeded materials London Public Library ran a book sale. For ten years, from 1983 to 1993, the Library planned, organized and ran this annual book sale. The book sale was prepared and executed primarily by the Technical Services Department with contribution, during the event itself, from volunteer staff from other departments. The book sale was responsible for revenue generation on the order of $17,000. While the book sale contributed both revenue and profile to the Library, it was done at considerable cost in terms of human resources. The book sale drew upon the resources of all points and all levels of the organization, and was especially resource-intensive for the Technical Services department. Not only did it require the year-long commitment of regular staff but it drew on significant resources in the casual and page budgets. The book sale was becoming a burden to the department. It was estimated that to perform the functions related to the book sale - transporting books to book sale room; sorting books into adult, children's, and by Dewey number; boxing books; scheduling staff for the book sale event; setting up rooms for the sale; arranging staff to sell; operating the sale of for three days and arranging for disposal of remaining material was costing in the neighbourhood of $80,000. Another solution had to be found and indeed it came in the form of Friends.

FRIENDS OF THE LONDON PUBLIC LIBRARY

In 1993, a steering committee was formed to prepare the groundwork for the formation of a Friends of the London Public Library. The first general meeting was held September 22, 1993, with guest speaker Howard Engel, author of the popular Benny Cooperman mysteries. Seventy-five people turned up for this first meeting. Today, in 1998, there are almost 400 members. They are organized as a non-profit, charitable organization which seeks to find ways and means of supporting the Library in its work. They raised $10,000 for the Home Library Service Van, and for the Library's 100th Anniversary in 1995 they contributed to the very successful and enjoyable Centennial Gala. The sale of raffled tickets brought in more than $800 for the CD-ROM project and produced five very happy winners - one winning a trip to beautiful Lake Louise. Through a variety of activities, Friends promote and publicize library services which demonstrate the benefits and importance of the Library in the community.

FRIENDS AND THE BOOK SALE

Since 1996 the Friends accepted, as one of their projects, the operation of the annual Book sale. The Library is indeed fortunate to have such an organized group as the Friends. They do an excellent job of working year-round to sort the books, put them in boxes, count them, and organize members to work at the sale. The weeded materials are brought to an abandoned firehall which serves as a storehouse for the materials. They are picked up from the libraries in the system by the Library's delivery van and brought to the firehall for sorting. A crew of twelve dedicated people, under the capable leadership of a sorting coordinator , sort the books and box them . This capable and dedicated group of Friends has turned an abandoned firehall into a brightly painted, efficient work room. Once sorted the books are put on pallets for easy loading into a trailer truck to be transported from the firehall to London’s Western Fair Grounds (Special Events building) twelve kilometres away. The trailer truck and two drivers are donated by a local trucking Firm "Partner Dedicated Services". Approximately 30,000 books are moved. The Special Events building (Western Fair Grounds) is large and spacious, with approximately 15,000 square feet. The books and materials are put on tables arranged in order of Dewey numbers, fiction, children's books, specialty books, and magazines. High school and college students help with the loading and unloading of the boxes.

WITHDRAWN MATERIALS REAP REVENUE

In 1996, the gross revenue from the book sale was $18,000. In 1997, a fourth day was added, the Friends were even better organized, and the gross take was $46,000. In 1998, the decision was made to hold a one-day summer book sale as well, because so many books were piling up. The summer sale featured fiction for summer reading, children's books, gardening, travel and cookbooks. They were ideal for cottage, campground, beach, and backyard. The gross revenue was $7,000. The Fall 1998 book sale will be held in October and we look forward to being even more successful. The community looks forward to the sale and attendance is in the thousands. To quote a book lover and regular at the sale "It gets bigger and better every year. The bargains are amazing!!! I tell my friends, it's a sea of books and I always come out with a great catch."

DISPOSAL OF REMAINING BOOKS

In the fall of 1997, after thousands of Londoners walked away with tremendous bargains on books, magazines, tapes and records, there were still 10,000 books left, including many hardcover fiction books. These remaining books benefited many more people. RCMP volunteers packed relevant material for air-lifting to the Northwest Territories, where they were donated to a school in Old Crow, located 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle. The remaining books went back to the firehall for the next sale.

Carmen Sprovieri is Director, Community Relations and Development at London Public Library.
Susanna Hubbard Krimmer is Director, Collections Management/Technical Support Services at London Public Library.
Viola Poletes is President of the Friends of the London Public Library. 

© Ontario Library Association, 1999. Reproduced with permission from Access, volume 5, number 2, Winter 1999.

For further funding development material from London Public Library, read "To Fund-raise or Not: Questions for Library Boards".