Of chairs and tables and old videotapes

The Chicago Reader has run an article about weeding efforts underway at the Sulzer Regional Library. Concerns have been raised about the weeding of old VHS tapes, some of which cannot be obtained in DVD format.   Interestingly, the "weeding" of old furniture has also become an issue: 

the hand-carved, hand-painted, whimsical pieces of site-specific furniture created for the library when it opened in 1985. On this wooden furniture you could find Adam and Eve, various constellations, the four seasons, and much more—a chair featuring the Snow Queen was chosen for the Museum of Science and Industry's 1985 exhibit, 150 Years of Chicago Architecture.

Some of this furniture is "falling apart" yet other pieces remain intact.  Some pieces have tags on them which may indicate they are slated for removal.   The author of the piece asserted that the "staff and the public are in the dark" about what is happening and that the "CPL Brass" is acting without consulting the public.  One respondent to this article summarizes a core concern: "why can't anything old be appreciated."

Library Journal article reveals more details about UCSD weeding project

A new article in Library Journal reveals more about attempts to reduce the library "footprint" at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD).  Driven by steep ($3M) budget cuts and the closure of four libraries, UCSD is removing 150,000 items or 4% of the collection over the next three years.

The withdrawal criteria include low use (e.g. no circulation in 10 years) and digital availability OR availability in one of the University of California system's storage facilities.  In this way, access to discarded items will be maintained. Given the magnitude of the budget cuts, it is encouraging to think that continued access (albeit in another form) will be maintained for these discarded materials.  This is a responsible approach that should mollify the critics and exemplify what spokesperson Dolores Davies calls "good library stewardship."

According to Library Journal, discarded items are being handled by Surplus Sales, a business that assists in the sale of surplus university property.  The university is reported to garner 70% of the proceeds of these sales.  In the meantime, pallets of low-value books have already been donated to Better World Books, a for-profit bookseller.

University of Florida students protest collections move

A plan to relocate collections from the Architecture & Fine Arts Library at the University of Florida has sparked student protests. According to an article in the Florida Alligator, the College of Fine Arts needs more studio space to maintain its accreditation and is considering making room for this by transferring collections to another library on campus.  Amid student demands for better communication and consultation, this issue has prompted a broader look at space use on campus, including an offer of assistance from the dean of the College of Design, Construction, and Planning.

Hathi Trust Constitutional Convention #htcc

For Twitter users, follow the many updates and comments from this ground-breaking event, as some of our most luminous librarians consider the future of the monograph in our collections.

Wesleyan posts Q&A with faculty member regarding weeding project concerns

The Wesleyan weeding project blog has just posted an exchange between the university librarian and a faculty member regarding the latter's concerns about the weeding project. Topics covered include the significance of in-house use, the impact of the project on the collection, and how it plays into the move to an increasingly electronic environment.  

Books Lost to Time

 Some tantalizing gaps in the cultural record are noted in this Smithsonian.com article and in the comments following. Lost works by Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy, Herman Melville, Sophocles.

These works were not lost because someone 'deselected' them, but do serve as an object lesson in what we must avoid as a community as we begin to draw down print collections.

Tweets of the day

Library Weeding Rule 101: If there is food or drink in the book please remove it from the collection #bookbites

Library Weeding Rule 102: If a book is so dirty that one would be averse to reading it while eating,remove it from the collection #bookbites

ASERL Webinar on Data-Driven Deselection now online

This 37 minute presentation details the Sustainable Collection Services (SCS) approach to data-driven deselection. Due to a glitch, you should start viewing at the 7:25 minute mark. There is also 15 minutes of Q&A which follows the presentation.  

Data-Driven De-Selection: A New Approach to Managing Monograph Collections posted by John Burger on Vimeo.

Wesleyan continues campus communication about its weeding project

University Librarian Pat Tully continues to update the Wesleyan community on developments with their weeding project via a project blog set-up for this purpose.  The two most recent posts:

1.  Explain the rules-based weeding criteria they developed for identifying withdrawal candidates.  An annotated version of their SCS Collection Summary is posted here.

2.  Explain the steps they are taking in Phase 1 of the project.

The Fight Over the Future of Digital Books

The Atlantic has published a short piece by Dan Cohen from George Mason University that lays out the basic problems with the misguided Authors Guild lawsuit filed last week against Hathi Trust.