Survival Weeding

Most small to medium‐sized public libraries are not depositories, research facilities, or storage places, but rather somewhere between these and a bookstore operation. To best serve patrons' needs it is important to have current, attractive, well‐displayed books. Trying to save everything just in case someone, sometime, might want a low‐use item is frustrating to both staff and clientele. Buildings can only hold a certain amount, so as long as there are new acquisitions, some of the older material has to go. Jam‐packed shelves are not pleasant to browse through and make a page's job more difficult.