Assignment+4+Weeding+Project

**Weeding Project**
Our school's teacher-librarian kindly allowed me to do a little weeding of the 800's.


 * School Weeding Policy**

According to the teacher librarian, her policy for weeding is the following:

1. 10+ years old 2. 2 or more copies 3. Not on any of our English independent novel reading lists. 4. Not on the curriculum (ie. Secondary sources on works NOT studied) 5. Not on current YA fiction best seller lists 6. Damaged 7. Last circulation date is over 5 years 8. Content is no longer current


 * Let the Weeding Begin:**

I was able to weed 12 books from the 800's (I could have weeded more.) The average age of what I weeded is approximately 31 years old. Some of the books had never been cracked open. Some were donated when the school opened, and others were yellowed, damaged and had an rather unpleasant odor.


 * Ten of the Books:**

//At the Sign of the Swan// by Judith Cook - Published: 1986 -the spine cracked as the book has never been taken out -book is yellowed and has an unpleasant odor //The Ghost Horse of the Mounties// by Sean O'Huigin -Published: 1983 -the book has never been checked out -donated by a parent for the opening of the school //Kids Plays// -Published: 1980 --the book has never been checked out -the six plays it contains are out of date and irrelevant for current students //The Modern American Novel// by Malcolm Bradbury -Published 1983 -the spine cracked as the book has never been taken out -book is yellowed and has an unpleasant odor //The Prophet// by Kahlil Gibran -Published 1966 -donated by a parent for the opening of the school -cover it badly damaged --the book has never been checked out //The Music of What Happens// -Published 1988 -the spine cracked as the book has never been taken out //A Poison Tree and Other Poems// Published 1977 -donated by a parent for the opening of the school -book had been withdrawn from the Terrace Public Library //Centrestage// Published 1990 -the book has never been checked out -contains a play called "Indian" about a farmer in conflict with an agent from the Department of Indian Affairs and the farmer worker known as Indian. The content is not appropriate and clearly out of date. //Canadian Writers at Work// Published 1987 -the spine cracked as the book has never been taken out -interviews were conducted 25 years ago with writers few students would be interested in -book is yellowed and has an unpleasant odor //Lanterns and Lances// by James Thurber Published 1955 -the book has never been checked out -the book is yellow and emits an unpleasant odor


 * Discarding the Books**

In order to discard the books, the teacher librarian uses a black marker to black out the bar code, the school name stamped in the book and to write discard right across the cover. If not, she fears these books will have a way of making their way back to her library. She joked about teacher librarians who discard books in the dead of night, so no-one will bring them back.


 * Weeding Report**




 * Reflecting on Weeding**

The teacher librarian kindly allowed me to take on the 800's and weed a dozen books. We discussed her weeding policy and then I was let loose. Initially, I felt awkward and showed the teacher-librarian the first few books I pulled. I quickly got comfortable with the process and found it cathartic. I only wish I could have weeded more, and I easily could have. Because so few of the books are taken out by students, I didn't bother much with circulations stats; instead, I focused on weeding books that were clearly old, discoloured or contained material that is out of date. The whole process was very easy as the collection is riddled with old, out of date books. I image once those books are gone, the process will be more challenging. The readings helped me understand how to detect what is meant by out of date or inappropriate material. The readings gave me the confidence to tackle another teacher-librarians collection. Wanting me to get the "full experience," the teacher librarian insisted I take those twelve books I weeded and toss them in the dumpster in back of the school. That final act of tossing away the books was by far the strangest moment of the process; I understood as I tossed them in why she made me do it, for as Brad Pitt's character said in the movie //Fight Club:// "Without pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing."