Collaborative Weeding

I have a personal goal and an administration mandate to weed the library. We have 18,000 books, many of which have not been checked out in 30 years. We also have a library that's filled to capacity before and after school, during lunch and at MP. We need to make more space for the kids.

I know the school library's mission is not to be a book archive and that the collection should support the curriculum and promote life-long learning. It's clear from browsing the shelves, we have a lot of outdated stuff that has to go. But where to start? What if I make a bad discard? As a first year librarian, weeding is a daunting job.

I decided not go to it alone. I bribed the new U.S. history teacher into helping me weed the U.S. history section. I got to brush up on my US history and historiography and, just as importantly, I got to know a new faculty member who is interested in collaborating on some lessons. Our weeding collaborative effort was highly successful. We have lean, mean collection with room to add newer titles that will support the assignments Jonathan plans for his students.

The only downside was I forgot to bend my knees when I picked up a big box of discards. I hurt my back something fierce. Oh, well. My back hurts, but the US history section looks great.