Librarians assess the usefulness, relevance, and physical condition of the Library collection on a continuing basis.
Deaccessioning Criteria
Librarians follow the same principles and guidelines in evaluation as in selection of new materials. Categories of deaccessioning include the routine removal of superseded editions of titles and the title-by-title weeding of unused volumes no longer relevant to the curriculum or to current research needs of faculty and students. Superseded volumes are usually discarded, unless it is determined that not all of the information is included in the most recent edition.
For title-by-title weeding, portions of the collection are reviewed on a rotating basis to assess the condition, relevance and currency of the materials.
“Weeding” criteria which should be considered are:
- Inclusion in the online Resources for College Libraries. For reference sources, inclusion in Guide to Reference Books by Robert Balay, Reference Sources for Small and Medium Sized Libraries by Scott Kennedy, or Choice’s Outstanding Academic Titles. These items are generally kept and noted in the back of the book that it appears in one of
these bibliographies. - Circulation/in-house usage count
- Availability of later editions
- Currency, relevance of the contents
- Physical condition of the publication
- Duplication of the contents in more recent works
- Language of the publication
- Space needs (e.g. do we have room for these materials?)
- Appropriateness to the demonstrated needs of the college community (such as mission, curricula, reference queries)
Print materials with low usage and/or in poor condition may be dealt with in the following ways:
- Materials in poor condition which are listed in Resources for College Libraries, or which show significant usage should be repaired or replaced when possible.
- Materials may be withdrawn. These materials are discarded, recycled, or given to other libraries at the discretion of the Collection Services Librarian.
The collection is evaluated in two important ways: automatic weeding of older editions of a work and periodic evaluation by the Librarians.
Electronic Resources:
Electronic resources are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Librarians gather statistics on database usage and compile them in the Library’s Annual Report. These statistics aid the Librarians in determining the usage patterns of individual databases. Databases with little use may be discontinued if there are few compelling reasons to keep the subscription.