Less Is More: A Practical Guide to Weeding School Library Collections Free

This accessible manual, whose authors are affiliated with the SUNLINK Project, Florida's K‐12 public school union catalog of library media resources, provides concise and practical applications for weeding school library collections. The book was developed based on SUNLINK's popular, field‐tested “Weed of the Month” program. The emphasis of the book is to help school media specialists learn the importance of weeding in order to provide a good, well‐rounded collection of popular and current items to aid curriculum, as well as to improve and increase students' use of the collection and media center. Taking a nuts and bolts approach, the authors present useful general information, such as the role of weeding in collection development, and they offer fine tips on determining the best time to weed, getting started with weeding and combating all the excuses not to weed. The majority of the book, however, consists of 71 topics for weeding organized in general Dewey order. Each topical section includes general weeding guidelines for that area by age of publication, rationale for weeding that particular topic, Dewey numbers to check for similar items, and finally specific criteria for weeding in that area. For demonstrative purposes, suggestions for replacing titles and a sample of items that deserve serious consideration from actual school catalogs are also included. This straightforward, easy‐to‐understand work would be a solid addition to any school library, but will be of particular interest to those new to the field. It may not be of much use for the seasoned practitioner who has already made a serious commitment to weeding or for those who have already developed a weeding style and criteria that works for them. While not immersed in theory, media specialists without time or devotion to weeding will be able to pull practical tips from its pages. Sidebars, quotations and plenty of white space for making notes are valuable. An appendix chart with general weeding criteria by Dewey classification is included.