[While ultimately 'commercial' in nature, this posting strikes me as
sufficiently interesting as to make an exception to the List's 'no
commercial postings' policy. LS]
From: "William Buchanan" <wbuchanan_at_erols.com>
Library Dynamics has just completed its unique "Weedlist" database of
bibliographic records for 53,222 titles of widely-held books that are prime
candidates for de-selection from academic library collections.
As the first major de-selection tool to be based on the declining value of
specific books, the Weedlist approach, with its custom outsourced
"Speedweeding" service, finally presents a valid rationale and an efficient
system for undertaking projects that are large enough to produce significant
results. Unlike piecemeal weeding efforts which result in constant
re-shuffling of collections, Speedweeding permits substantial one-shot
projects whose economies-of-scale produce maximum results quickly,
inexpensively and with a minimum involvement of professional staff.
As part of a survey of Weedlist holdings, for a limited time we are offering
to match your library collection against the Weedlist database...free of
charge or obligation.
By participating, your library can not only learn the total number of these
superseded volumes that are still taking up valuable shelfspace, but also
receive our estimates of how many square feet of space you can reclaim with
a Speedweeding project and the dollar amount you could save by avoiding new
building construction costs. We would also give you a fixed-price proposal
to carry out the project.
The rationale for the Weedlist de-selection process was explained by Evan
Farber in his article, "Books NOT for College Libraries," which appeared in
the August, 1997 issue of Library Journal.
Each Weedlist title was included in at least one of the authoritative "Books
for College Libraries" core collections but dropped from later editions as
having been superseded, outdated or otherwise no longer considered as
important as it once was for academic institutions. As BCL first appeared
during the "Great Society" period of generous library funding, it can be
assumed that these titles were acquired in large numbers. Then, as a result
of a general lack of systematic weeding efforts since that time, these
volumes today make up a rich lode of recoverable shelfspace.
After reviewing the results of your free test match, if your library decides
to order the Speedweeding service at our guaranteed price, the project would
proceed as follows:
1. Within a few days you would receive custom-printed "Checklists" of
abbreviated MARC-type records for your Weedlist holdings...all arranged in
the order they appear on your shelves;
2. the Checklist pages would be used for "retention review" by appropriate
members of your teaching faculty and/or subject specialists who could choose
to retain specific titles;
3. those titles not marked for retention would be sent to remote storage
facilities or discarded; and
4. the changes-in-status of the de-selected volumes would be recorded in
your online catalog using our simple barcode-based "UnPAC" system at no
extra charge.
Remember, for every 10,000 volumes that are discarded or sent to off-site
storage, you will recover about 4,000 square feet of operating space and
potentially avoid approximately $500,000 in new building costs. In this
connection, the Library Dynamics pricing strategy of charging a small
fixed-fee-per-matched-title insures that libraries of different sizes and
types will pay only in proportion to the potential benefits they receive.
For background information on the Weedlist program and the Speedweeding
service, please visit our website at http://www.librarydynamics.com. There
you can look over the full text of the first issue of our "Weeder's Digest"
newsletter as well as Evan Farber's article from Library Journal.
Please reply to me at wbuchanan_at_erols.com if you have any questions or
would like to proceed with the free matching program. I can also be reached
by phone at (202) 364 3995.
Bill Buchanan, President
Library Dynamics Company
Received on Tue Sep 08 1998 - 17:45:45 EDT