Each week between now and the 2019 MLA/DLA Conference, we’re highlighting one of the conference sessions sponsored by ACRL MD. The conference will be held May 1-3 at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay in Cambridge, MD. For more information about the conference and to register, visit the MLA conference website.
What if… we challenge our weeding assumptions? Critical thinking for balanced collection management
Thursday, May 2nd
4:15 – 5:15 pm
Miriam DesHarnais, Shana Gass, & Todd Krueger
In an era of shifting usage patterns and demands on library space, extreme weeding has become the new normal for many libraries. Collection analytics software, used thoughtfully, can save time and help refresh collections. However, quantitative tools privilege certain criteria qualities, sometimes in counterproductive ways. Likewise, “weeding by feel” can replicate biases or and blind spots. By unearthing assumptions about weeding, we can generate collection strategies for maintaining diverse, locally relevant, and vital collections. This program will explore these issues within the context of academic library subject and juvenile collections, as well as school library collections.
