While it is my belief that the weeding steps outlined in the shelf-by-shelf chapters translate to children’s collections, there are some additional considerations. With a youth collection, whether in a school or public library, it may become habit to think, “Well, even an outdated book on X topic is better than no book at all.” Please do not fall into this trap! Students deserve better than this—and their grade may depend on it. It’s also easy to settle back on the “This was my favorite book when I was this age” school of thinking. If you are having trouble weeding a personal favorite, put it on display or try to hand-sell it (not aggressively—someone has to want to check it out to read it, not to get you off their back!).
Because most youth nonfiction titles will be used for school needs, it is imperative that these materials are kept up to date. Science and Geography in particular must be aggressively weeded. Young users are not as savvy as adults and will not be able to make the same judgment calls that an adult can when choosing material, and are therefore more susceptible to going right ahead and checking out that book on space exploration from 1989.
Popular interest trumps all here. If a book hasn’t circulated in three years, it’s not likely that it’s going to be checked out any time soon.
Look at classics in terms of authors as much as books. I’m going to say it. Award winners are not sacred and should be withdrawn when they are not circulating. If in doubt, try to generate interest with an easy display of award winners. Replace those that do circulate with new, fresh copies as much as your budget allows.
Outdated covers are terrible across the board, but they are the kiss of death when it comes to youth and YA books. Check for updated paperback versions of seminal YA works in particular.
Much of your YA fiction is probably flavor-of-the-month, so make a point of clearing out the non-circulating items to make room for the new books.
The very nature of board books makes them prime candidates for heavy weeding—they get chewed on, beat up, and can often be weeded on condition alone. Picture books are also well-loved, and usually come back with smudged or drawn-on pages. Replace what’s popular or classic, and move on.
Multiple copies of series books often mean messy stacks. Determine what’s still popular, and purchase replacements for worn or outdated versions.
Replace missing titles or sequels as necessary, but don’t be afraid to weed an entire run if there are gaps that cannot be filled and interest has waned.
As with the sample schedule detailed in chapter 1, these are generic guidelines meant to be adapted to any library’s particular collection size and needs.
Biennially: Board Books
Every three years: Audiovisual
Every five years: Picture Books, Early Readers, Fiction, Paperbacks, Series, Nonfiction, Biography, Parent/Teacher, Reference (These items should all be weeded on an ongoing basis by condition, but a full review should take place no less than every five years.)
If an individual title is no longer popular, the library should not retain more than one copy of it. With a few exceptions, the library should retain only the current edition of a title. Titles that have not circulated in two years are considered for weeding. Weeding cycle is every five years. There are a few sections that warrant special attention:
Common subjects include family issues, social issues, environmental issues, government, military, holidays, folktales and fairy tales. Youth Services maintains a large collection of folktales and fairy tales representing a wide range of cultural traditions, and this portion of the collection is usually not time sensitive.
Common subjects include English grammar, sign language, dictionaries, and foreign language instructional, as well as recreational reading material; these materials tend to age well. The collection should be evaluated every five years.
Common subjects include science experiments, natural sciences, dinosaurs, mathematics, pure sciences, biomes, botany, and animals. As these topics tend to be time-sensitive and change rapidly, this area of the collection should be evaluated every two years.
We expect these books to be treated roughly; therefore this collection needs to be weeded biennially. Titles that have not circulated in one year are considered for weeding.
Most fiction, including picture books, early readers, and series titles should be retained based on popularity with our current young patrons. Titles that have not circulated in two years are considered for weeding. Weeding cycle is every five years.