Weeding Policy

It is the responsibility of the Library Media Specialist to provide students with access to accurate information that is relevant to the modern day needs of the Arthur Williams Middle School Library Media Center students and staff.  Because of this, the Library Media Specialist must routinely evaluate the materials in the library collection and weed (or dispose of) materials or resources that are too old, too damaged, does not provide accurate information, have poor circulation, or are otherwise unsuitable for the collection and the current needs of the students.

Reasons to Weed the Collection

• To remove outdated, obsolete items and make room for newer and more valuable items
• To make the library more user friendly
• To strengthen the collection in support of the classroom curriculum

Reasons for Discarding Weeded Materials

In general, the following criteria will be used in weeding out undesirable materials. These criteria are presented as guidelines, rather than as laws or an infallible formula. The Library Media Specialist will apply them with judgment while carefully considering their school’s curriculum, collection, and needs of students and staff.

1. Physical Condition

1. Pages torn
2. Book covers torn – not repaired or not repaired appropriately
3. Ragged bindings, poorly repaired bindings
4. Inability to be repaired

2. Content

1. Out-of-date
2. Trivial subject matter or approach to subject matter
3. Inaccurate information (Misinformation is worse than no information!)
4. Newer editions are available
5. Not on a standards list
6. Not circulated
7. Not used for reference
8. Unneeded duplicate
9. Biased, depicts inappropriate stereotypes
10. Interest or reading level inappropriate for student body

3. Objective Criteria

1. Exceeds target copyright date
2. Low circulation rate (having not been checked more than a few times in the past two years)

Reasons for Not Discarding Materials

The following are some reasons for not discarding materials, even if they meet the above listed criteria.

• If it is a work of historical significance in the field of children’s literature.
• If it has unusual illustrations or illustrations done by a well-known artist.
• If it is a work by a local author, illustrator, or editor.
• If it describes local history or personalities.
• If it is a memorial gift.
• If it bears a significant relationship to other books or materials on the same subject.
• If it has possible usefulness to some special group or individual in the school.

The final decision regarding items to be withdrawn from the library media center resource collection rests with the library media center specialist and professional staff of Arthur Williams Middle School.

Weeding Procedures

1. The Library Media Specialist (LMS) will identify and examine any item that has not circulated in the past two years.
2. The LMS will examine fiction books with copyright dates over 10 years old and reference books with copyright dates over 3 years old.
3. The LMS will identify and examine items in poor physical condition.
4. The LMS will use the weeding criteria for evaluating items suggested for weeding.
5. Administrators and teachers in appropriate subject areas will be asked to identify items they desire to be retained.
6. Items to be retained in current poor physical condition will be remedied by repair, rebinding, or replacement.
7. Items to be weeded will be removed from the catalog and computer records.  They will be marked as "discarded.”  Items will be physically disposed of according to the disposal policy below.

Disposal of Weeded Items

When items are weeded from the media center's collection, they will be :

• Stricken of any reference to Wayne County Schools
• Stricken of any school/system name via blackout markers
• Stricken of all stickers or labels with the school/system name, bar codes, or cataloging (information will be removed from system)
• Stricken of any security implements in place, such as magnetic strips

Following removal of all identifying marks:

• Items (with the exception of materials containing inaccurate information) will be offered to the staff of the school to take as they wish for a period of one to two weeks.  Items will then be offered to students for a period of one to two weeks.

• Biased or inaccurate items will be recycled or thrown away.
• Anyone choosing to accept material weeded from the media center will understand that it is now their property and should not be returned to the media center.
• Following the one to two week offering period, all remaining materials will be recycled, if possible, or items will be donated to an educational facility such as the Boys and Girls Club or alternative or charity of the library media specialist's choosing.