Weeding is a crucial part of the collection development process. Weeding allows for an up-to-date collection and ensures that the library is providing top quality materials for the students and faculty. The collection will be reviewed periodically by the librarian assigned to the specific subject area. The Library Liaisons can be on the Staff page of the Central Indiana Libraries’ website.
Based on MUSTIE from the CREW manual, the following is criteria for removal from the collection:
Older versions of new textbooks will be moved to the general collection or deleted. The decision of what to do with the older editions will be made by the librarian responsible for that specific subject area or the textbook reserve librarian. Only one previous edition of current textbooks or reserve materials will be kept in the general collection. Previous editions of textbooks that have been moved to the general collection will be deleted.
Periodicals adhere to the following general schedule. For a more detailed schedule, consult the Assistant Director.
Quarterly/Bimonthly - 2 years
Monthly - 1 year
Biweekly - 6 months
Weekly - 3/6 months (depending on storage)
Daily - 1 week
Electronic hardware and software follow the same basic weeding criteria as other materials, but it is important to keep the following four guidelines in mind when weeding:
Electronic Hardware
Electronic hardware should be evaluated after three years. Circulation stats should be checked every year. If there is a low level of circulation, then an effort should be made by the purchasing librarian to assess why the device(s) are not being used and attempt to find a solution. If, after the three years, the device has a high level of usage then the library should consider replacing the device with an updated version.
Items weeded from the collection should be evaluated for replacement. Materials that are physically damaged or lost are not automatically replaced. Materials that are overdue for 29 days or longer enter lost status. After five months of the item entering lost status, the item will be considered for replacement based on the criteria below.
The following criteria will be considered when determining if an item should be replaced:
