Weeding/Deselection:
The removal of materials to be discarded is an important part of collection development. Professional librarians are responsible for thoughtful and systematic weeding of library materials. A process of continual assessment, removal and replacement of materials is maintained to ensure relevancy, accessibility, cost efficiency and attractiveness of both electronic and hard copy collections. Current periodical titles are reviewed annually prior to renewal. All other areas of the collection should be reviewed every three to five years.
Considerations for weeding include items that are:
- Superseded by a new edition or format.
- Outdated or contain incorrect information.
- Duplicate volumes unless the item is in heavy demand.
- Unusable due to poor physical condition.
- Items determined to be of minimal value when weighed against the college curriculum or the library collection as a whole.
Every effort should be made to replace lost or heavily mutilated titles if they are judged to be of continuing relevance. Gifts can be used to replace worn circulating copies. Condition of all materials should be monitored to ensure those in need of repair/rebinding or replacement are attended to. Lost books will be reviewed at least annually for replacement.
Faculty are encouraged to review academic program areas and make recommendation for discard/update/ replacement/expansion.