no.1907-BENCHMARKS & STANDARDS (Response #1)

[Original posting on this topic appeared in COLLDV-L no. 1901 and is
reproduced below; the response follows it.]

From: HERRICK HEITMAN <HHEITMAN_at_statelib.wa.gov>

The Collection Development Policy Group at the Washington State
Library is revising a dusty collection development policy. Our customers
include the Govenor's Office, the Legislature, and state agencies as
well as the general public.

1) We are interested in identifying benchmarks and standards for
collection development and weeding in the following areas: economic
development; salmon recovery/endangered species; higher education;
public education; public safety; natural resources; water quality. Any
suggestions would be most welcome.

2)We've also been talking about "rules of thumb"--those intuitive
benchmarks that are part of our library's folk wisdom. An example is:
"Medical books that are 5 years old are reaching the end of their useful
shelf life." Do other libraries have such rules of thumb? What is their
basis in fact? Do they have any basis?

Thanks in advance,

Herrick Heitman
hheitman_at_statelib.wa.gov
(360) 704-7131
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(1) From: Martha Starck <starckm_at_milwaukee.tec.wi.us>

Your comment that "Medical books that are 5 years old are reaching the end
of their useful shelf life."  reminds me that I have had some of our
nursing faculty advise on weeding of medical books. They discard a lot of
materials in their offices and labs after three years. As near as I can
tell, that rule of thumb probably comes from the fact that many of the
nursing texts change edition every 3 years. In medical materials, I have
been using a rule of thumb of 5 years on topics that change frequently, and
10 years on others.

Martha Starck
Library                          E-MAIL: starckm_at_milwaukee.tec.wi.us
Milwaukee Area Technical College Phone:  (414) 297-6424
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233       Fax:    (414) 297-6798