Hi
This is a meld from a couple of libraries in New Zealand and Australia
- for public libraries.
Fiona Emberton,
Brisbane
Australia
5.1
Thanks to Joseph Segal in his book Evaluating and weeding collections...ALA,
1980,there is an easily remembered
acronym for factors which detract from a books usefulness.<?xml:namespace
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M
- Misleading (and /or inaccurate)
U
- Ugly (worn and beyond repair)
S -
Superseded (by a new edition or a better book on the subject)
T
- Trivial (poor literary or scientific merit)
Y
- Your collection has no need for this book (irrelevant to the current
or future customer)
6.
Guidelines by category
6.1
Non-Fiction
The
table below is guidance for how long to keep materials, based on professional
opinions in the literature and practical experience.
|
Dewey
Class
|
No.
of years to keep for
(guidance)
|
Comments
|
|
000
(General)
|
5
|
Computers
generally to be discarded after 3 yrs
|
|
100
Philosophy & Psychology
|
10
|
Monitor
dated topics
|
|
200
(Religion & Mythology)
|
10
|
|
|
300
(Social Science)
|
|
Discard
unappealing, old fashion text books
|
|
310
(Almanacs)
|
2
|
Seldom
of use after 2 years
|
|
320
(Political Science)
|
5
|
|
|
340
(Law)
|
5
|
Take
care with date legislation
|
|
350
(Government)
|
10
|
Take
care with reforms
|
|
370
(Education)
|
10
|
|
|
390
(Etiquette)
|
5
|
|
|
(Folklore/customs)
|
10
|
|
|
400
(Linguistics & Language)
|
10
|
Discard
old fashion, unappealing text books
|
|
500
(Pure Science)
|
|
|
|
510
Math
|
10
|
|
|
570
Natural History
|
10
|
|
|
580
Botany
|
10
|
|
|
Other
500’s
|
10
|
Keep
classics of significant value, eg Darwin’s Origin of the species
|
|
600
(Applied Sciences)
|
|
|
|
610
Medicine
|
5
|
Take
care in areas where information is fast changing such as AIDS research.
Deselect First Aid Manuals after 3 years.
|
|
630
Agriculture
|
10
|
|
|
640
Home Economics
|
10
|
Be
strict with grooming/fashion – trends.
Cookbooks
may be kept longer |
|
690
Manufacturing
|
10
|
Unless
collectables- may have a longer shelf life
|
|
Other
600’s
|
|
Technology
-anything older than five years
should be viewed with suspicion. Keep car and other technical device repair
manuals REGARDLESS OF OILY FINGER PRINTS!
|
|
700
(Arts and Recreation)
|
|
|
|
745
Crafts
|
3
|
Retain
basic technique books if well illustrated
|
|
770
Photography
|
5
|
Check
for outdated equipment/techniques
|
|
Other
|
|
Keep
all basics, especially histories unless MUSTY
|
|
800
(Literature)
|
|
Keep
basic materials, especially criticism of class writers. Discard minor writers
no longer read.
|
|
900
(History & Geography)
|
|
|
|
910
Travel/geography
|
5
|
Discard
guidebooks such as lonely planet and descriptive geography.
|
|
Other
900’s
|
|
Look
for accuracy of interpretation (eg Aboriginal histories written some time
ago, unless considered classics)
|
|
Atlases
|
5
|
Keep
abreast of changes such as West/East Germany and Soviet Union
|
Biographies
|
3
|
|
6.2
Fiction
|
|
REPLACE
OR RETAIN
|
|
|
Works
of literary merit or of enduring local value, despite low use count (consider
replacement with more attractive edition)
|
|
|
Consider
retention or replacement of last copies of a series
|
|
YA
fiction more than 5 years old
|
|
6.3
Audio Visual
Where
a part of a multiple-item audio-visual title is missing or damaged, do
the following:
·change
status to “AV-INCOMPLETE”
·Test
items reported faulty before discarding. Customers often report items as
faulty due to faults with their player
·Consider
that audiovisual items are often difficult to borrow on Inter-Library Loan
·Taped
Book cassettes can be replaced unless the pack is too old. For instructions
on how to order replacement tapes, refer to the document “Replacement of
Audio Visual Materials”
DISCARD
|
MEND/REQUEST
REPLACEMENT TAPES
|
|
|
Taped
Books or Cassettes that are less than 12 months old
|
|
Taped
Books and cassettes with a use count of at least 25 that are in very poor
condition
|
Taped
Books or Cassettes that are more than 12 months old but still in good condition
|
|
Any
material that cannot be mended or replaced
|
Replace
damaged cases if tapes are still in fairly good condition
|
6.4
Magazines
|
How
long to keep for
|
Frequency
of publishing
|
|
6
months
|
|
|
2
years
|
Monthlies
|
|
Up
to 5 years
|
Less
frequently produced titles
|
6.5
Reference Collection
·The
use of printed reference materials can be difficult to determine as they
usually do not circulate and we do not keep an in-house use count.
·Generally
use the criteria used for the lending collection, with the possible exception
of use and currency.
·Some
are considered reference ‘classics’ while others, especially medical, legal,
scientific and technological works may become outdated very quickly. These
need close assessment before being sent to another branch or transferred
to the lending collection.
·Many
of our reference sources are on Standing Order. These are updated annually
or as new editions are published. The outdated editions need close assessment
before being sent to another branch or transferred to the lending collection.
An exception is any new edition that supplements rather than replaces an
older edition, such as quotations books, Australian Dictionary of Biography,
etc.
ABS
·The
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) collections reflect the content of
the Library Extension Program (LEP).
·The
LEP does not include all publications produced by the ABS. We are subject
to the retention guidelines for LEP libraries. These guidelines are not
hard and fast rules and need to be considered in conjunction with local
needs. However, the ABS Website does list the branches that have LEP collections
and therefore we should weed to their guidelines whenever possible.
·Additional
information about what to keep in your LEP collection is available on the
ABS website at: http://www.abs.gov.au
|
NO.
OF YEARS TO KEEP FOR
(guidance)
|
ITEM
|
|
1
|
Monthly
and Quarterly publications
|
|
5
|
Annual
Publications
|
|
10
|
Year
Books
|