Re: Weeding print periodicals BLACK, STEVE 24 Jul 2008 14:02 UTC
Sarah, There's a summary of weeding criteria on pages 77-80 of Serials in Libraries: Issues and Practices (Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2006), ISBN 1-59158-258X. A more thorough treatment is in Dennis K. Lambert, A Guide to review of library collections : preservation, storage, and withdrawal, 2nd ed. ([Chicago] : Lanham, Md. : Association for Library Collections & Technical Services; published in cooperation with Scarecrow Press, 2002). While all the criteria are worth considering, I think having reliable, affordable access to online back issues has become the most important criterion. If it's in JSTOR, or the publisher makes backfiles of the "official" version available for free after an embargo period (e.g. Journal of Biological Chemistry), that's the safest situation for discarding print. When I discuss weeding with faculty or at committee meetings, I like to point out that it's much like cleaning your garage or closet. It has to be done, it will improve the situation, but inevitably a month later you'll want something that was tossed. Folks can relate to that. Steve Black Reference, Serials, and Instruction Librarian Neil Hellman Library The College of Saint Rose 392 Western Ave. Albany, NY 12203 (518) 458-5494 blacks@strose.edu -----Original Message----- From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum [mailto:SERIALST@list.uvm.edu] On Behalf Of Sarah Sanford Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 3:55 PM To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU Subject: [SERIALST] Weeding print periodicals I need professional weeding/shifting advice! We are a small academic library with approximately 1000 active print journals. Last summer we finished shifting the entire periodicals collection, leaving 5 years of growth for all active titles. In many cases, we had to use the bottom shelf because of space concerns--which means in less than 5 years we will be at full capacity. I am not a librarian but I am the manager of the periodicals department. All weeding has to be approved by the librarians. What suggestions do you have to 1) create space in the collection and 2) help facilitate a weeding project? One idea is to document all the titles which have short runs (1-10 years) and are older than 1990 and see if I can weed these. What we can't get through ILL we would likely keep. We keep usage stats but only on active titles. We already have a number of titles on a retention cycle (JSTOR, etc.) and we substitute online for print where it is cost effective. I don't work directly with departments and have no idea which titles we need to keep for 50 years and which we only need to keep for 5. Weeding the periodicals collection will not be a priority for the librarians, but it's one we have to do to create space. Any suggestions? Thanks for your help. -- Sarah Monson Serials Manager Folke Bernadotte Memorial Library Gustavus Adolphus College St. Peter, MN 56082 Phone: 507-933-7562 Fax: 507-933-6292 What I'm reading: The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker