Y'all. Let's talk about weeding. Most libraries are set up very well for readers who a) understand how the library is organized, b) can use the online catalog independently and c) are so motivated to find the resource they need that they are willing to wade through... [THREAD]
a sea of spine labels to find it. In my experience, however, very few students fit into this category. Rather, many kids who come to the library a) have no idea what book they want b) don’t care how the library is organized and c)won’t ask for help unless they absolutely have...
to. Weeding contributes to an over emphasis on SEARCHING, rather than DISCOVERING. books. The more outdated and irrelevant resources a reader has to dig through in order to find the one or two titles that are up to date, high quality and capture their curiosity, the less...
likely they are to find the one they need. In short, failing to weed just creates more barriers for readers. In this case, less is definitely more. I’m currently working on some resources for creating library spaces that emphasize discoverability over searchability, but until...
then, here’s my wedding protocol. bit.ly/2vehzpn Additionally, there’s also a social justice/equity component to weeding. Until we intentionally, and thoroughly weed our collection of books that contain outdated stereotypical representations of IPOC/LGBTQ+ (et al)...
characters, we cannot reasonably claim to have an inclusive collection that accurately represents our diverse global community. In the end, like so many other things in the library, weeding should be about KIDS not about books. /rant :)
cc: @donalynbooks @becalzada @edutinker
cc: @donalynbooks @becalzada @edutinker
@donalynbooks @becalzada @edutinker PS: I want to add one more thought: having a small or zero budget for new books cannot be an excuse for not weeding. Keeping shelves full of outdated materials gives the visual impression that the library has all the resources kids need. Half (or entirely!) empty shelves ...
more accurately reflect the state of investment in the library as a learning/literacy resource for children. If you have 25 books on the solar system, but only 4 are up to date, keeping the 21 outdated books perpetuates a lie that you have enough resources to serve your learners.
