During departmental presentations for new Jackson County Library Services hires, collection development manager Laurin Arnold likes to bring some show and tell: a few examples of books patrons won’t find on JCLS shelves.
There’s a book on cellphone technology from the late 1990s – about a decade before smartphones emerged on the scene. There’s also an outdated medical textbook and a similarly-outdated book on first-wave electric car technology.
Think of them as weeds, ones that have all been pulled out of brain-nurturing soil by their roots. Laurin’s department is responsible for this practice, and it’s a necessary one for keeping the library district’s collection as up-to-date and circulated as possible.
“We are bound by the laws of physics,” Laurin says. “There’s only so much space that we have.”
Libraries are also complex organisms, much more than books. Some physical real estate is needed for the children’s play areas, meeting rooms, public lounge areas and study spaces libraries also offer.
“We’re not the Library of Congress,” says White City branch manager Allyson Beck. “There’s no way for us to keep everything.”
Weed identification
When looking for the weeds that no longer serve the literary garden they reside in, there are a couple key things to keep in mind. For a more detailed rundown, you can read JCLS’s collection development policy here.
First, and most importantly, information goes out of date. This is a critical characteristic for any collection, Laurin says; you want informational materials you offer to be as current and accurate as possible, especially when it comes to volumes related to crucial topics such as medical advice and nutrition, the law, and tax codes. Library collections need to reflect the most relevant data and research.
“Even history goes out of date,” Laurin says. “Because you’re learning so much. People are doing studies, and they’re finding documents, and they’re doing archaeological digs, and they’re finding new things. New perspectives are being brought up that weren’t thought of before.”
Another characteristic of materials that needs to be considered is their popularity. Some materials endure, while the shine and status of others fades. Those collecting dust on the shelves need to be sought for weeding, too. Room is needed for that next bestseller.
Condition of the materials is also a consideration. Like out-of-date and/or unpopular selections, ones that are worn out or damaged also must go, sometimes with fresh new copies replacing them.
“We’re making sure that the kids – and any of our patrons, when they’re looking at a book, it still feels like a new book to them,” Allyson says.
Something that isn’t a consideration for weeding books is content found within the materials. This is spelled out plainly in the Collection Development Policy: “No item shall be removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval. The Library upholds the right of the individual to secure these resources, even though the content may be controversial, unorthodox, or unacceptable to some.”
Weed pulling
It’s a lot to consider, and collection development’s 3-person crew can’t do this on their own. That’s why they train staff at JCLS’s 15 branches to be involved.
“Laurin and her team, what I really appreciate is they do quarterly visits,” Allyson says. “And, through her quarterly visits, (they) have done training. My team and I are really set on sticking to that.”
Collection development also aids in the weeding process by running reports, a boon for branch employees. There is also a weeding schedule.
Amid the weeding, the JCLS materials biome continues to diversify, with new species such as board and video games and a bolstered graphic novel collection blooming. You can see a list of some of Laurin’s favorites among those offerings here.
Re-planting
So what happens after these pulp-and-paper weeds get pulled?
The good news is that, unlike real weeds, books removed from circulation sometimes find new lives out in the world.
“Throughout the entire process, we are thinking about the fact that this is taxpayer money,” Laurin says.
A good portion of pulled titles are donated to an organization called Better World Books, which has received more than 38 million donated books since its inception, according to their website. The funds JCLS receives from Better World Books go towards purchasing new books for the collection.
“They give them to organizations across the world,” Laurin says. “They’re very literacy-focused. And if they can’t do that, at the very least, they recycle them.”
Closer to home, Friends of the Library groups at various JCLS branches will sometimes receive the titles as donations – again, depending on their quality – while others will be put on a cart or similar display and offered as something patrons can take home forever for free.
“Our patrons love getting the books that we withdraw, building their own little libraries at home,” Allyson says. “We also have a pretty nice partnership with DHS, so weeded books from kids to YA, we’ve been donating to them.”
“We’ve just had a really positive reaction from that,” she adds.
So the next time you’re walking among the shelves of a JCLS branch, think of it as a garden; one that’s well-tended and offers up the best yields. People like Laurin and Allyson make it happen.