Weeding in a library is like weeding in a garden.

The gardener must create more space for new

plants, check the status of the current plants, and purchase new vegetation when needed. While

weeding may be a daunting and tedious task it is necessary to not let excuses prohibit this from

occurring in the library. Effective weeding will help eliminate unwanted and unsuitable materials

and provide a more updated collection making the library easier to use and enhance the

credibility of the collection. A systematic weeding policy needs to be in writing and available to

all school personnel and patrons so that any suggestions or comments regarding what works need

to be removed and new items that need to be added. Guidelines that need to be included in the

policy should include removing materials that have not circulated in the last five years; outdated,

obsolete or inaccurate information especially in the areas of science, geography, history, and

technology. Regular checking of titles that have been superseded by newer additions also need to

be removed. It is important to have a panel of individuals to evaluate material that will be

entering the library to check for biased, condescending, and patronizing, or stereotyping

elements. These types of works have no place within the library and must be permanently

removed or banned from being purchased. It is also important to select media that is relevant to

curriculum and age appropriate. It’s the librarian’s responsibility to make sure all licenses and

subscription fees are up to date and follow district guidelines. Once the media is no longer

needed or in disrepair then it needs to be quickly recycled and a new media put in its place. It is

also important to remove multiple copies of the same work if they are not regularly checked out

in bulk by students or staff. Effective weeding also helps to facilitate identification of works

which need repair or replacement. Weeding is an integral part of maintaining a strong and

valuable collection and therefore regularly scheduled weeding is essential. Before weeding, the

librarian needs to send out a listing of titles so that teachers can inform him or her if something
needs to be removed from the list as it is still used in their curriculum. Once an item has been

weeded from the school is important that the librarian remove all school tags and information

from the circulation records on the computer and in writing. To not create a false impression that

the library is not in need of funding since they are discarding materials it is important to box up

the weeded materials and dispose or donate them to an organization or recycling plant. The

librarian may also have to provide a listing of barcodes and titles of all weeded materials to

administration to ensure that they are complying with district policy. Below is a list of titles that

should be weeded from the library collection:

1. Bergler, E. (1956). Homosexuality.

This book is very biased and reflects the views of Dr. Edmund Bergler in 1956. He uses his

medical degree to denounce all homosexuals and that homosexuality is a “neurotic disease”.

He leads others to believe that homosexuals are out recruiting others to their lifestyle. The

information is dated and not deemed appropriate for children in an elementary school setting

due to the controversial subject matter.

2. Farber, N. (1973). I Found Them in the Yellow Pages. Little Brown.

This is an outdated illustrated children’s alphabet book whose pictures only depict males in

professional positions. The pictures are in black and white and are not all relatable to what

children encounter today. Alphabetic books today are usually animated and with colorful

pictures and many times are accompanied with media or practice pages. This book is rarely if

ever checked out and seems to only be taking up space on the library shelf. Most children are

unfamiliar with what the yellow pages even are. This makes this resource obsolete and

unrelatable.
 3. Bick, J. (2000). 101 Things You Need to Know about Internet Law. Three Rivers Press

(CA).

This book is over eighteen years old and internet laws have vastly updated and thus its

information is not current, reliable, or a complete picture of the current Internet. For example,

there is a section on AOL, but there is not mention at all about Amazon. They also do not

include any current teachable, topics such as cyberbullying, internet etiquette and safety, and

current privacy laws. Due to its outdated nature this book should be removed, and a more

current edition put in its place.

4. King, D. (1994). My First Photography Book. Dk Pub.

This book is an historical approach to photography but is unable to go into current

photographic information due to it being published in 1994. The book goes into detail about

the different cameras available at that time and what to do with your negatives after you have

printed your pictures. The library would be better served with an updated version that not only

goes historical but gives examples of modern photographic equipment and techniques.

5. V.K.Jain. Computer For Beginners. Pustak Mahal, 1989.

This is a manual that teaches about introductory computer programs and hardware up to 1989.

It goes into further detail about using the DOS operating system and LOTUS 123. Since

elementary students today are very tech savvy they would be better served by a current manual

that teaches current computer programs and applications.