March Madness? No, Weeding Madness!
Barb Miller, Teacher-Librarian - Manhattan MS
What do you get when you combine two middle schools, don’t keep up on weeding and then remodel the library? I wish this were the set up to the start of a joke, but it’s not. It’s what happened to me when Baseline Middle School combined with Burbank Middle School to become Manhattan Middle School and I took over as the librarian.
...weeding was one of those tasks that just never got done...
I must admit that I had plenty of things to do and somehow or other, weeding was one of those tasks that just never got done (especially nonfiction). A few years ago, my shelves were past bulging and I could no longer ignore the ugly truth that I had better start weeding. I was incredibly lucky to have help from one of our parents, and none other than the Colorado Librarian of the Year -Beatrice Gerrish. Beatrice was extremely helpful and generous with her time. Since this wasn't ‘her’ library, she wasn’t attached to the books and we started weeding in earnest. I would highly recommend asking a fellow librarian to help with this; as a matter of fact, BVSD will provide sub time to make this happen- email Zoe....9,356 books (over 50% of my collection) were weeded
Fast forward to this year with a library remodel on the horizon and architects telling me there would be room for a maximum of 8,340 books. Yikes! I dug in with gusto and with the support of my principal, 9,356 books (over 50% of my collection) were weeded. Of course, I didn’t do this alone; I had help from our incredible PTO, library aides (slave labor), Mackin’s phenomenal Bobbi Craig, Insignia and Mackin’s Collection Analysis, and Rae Ciciora (helpful weeding advice). A couple of pieces of weeding advice which really stuck out and helped me were - 1) Fiction and NF were going to flip. In my new library, I’d have more fiction than nonfiction, and 2) weed the NF by date of publication (try not to have items over 15 years old) and the FIC by least circulated. Most books not checked out in 3 years probably need to get the heave ho.
We’ll be developing a 3-year plan for purchasing both print and e-book resources
Yep and get ready for this - in all, from 2012-now, we’ve weeded a total of 29,420 books!The library is looking pretty barren and forlorn but I’m looking past what is and imaging the gorgeous new space that will be here next fall. Since our library is closing early (May 5th), I’m looking forward to having time to explore Overdrive and Mackin Via, as well as help teachers develop curriculum maps. We’ll be developing a 3-year plan for purchasing both print and e-book resources for the gorgeous new library.
Now I just need to go home and start spring cleaning. Somehow, that doesn’t look very daunting anymore...
Awesome work, Barb!
ReplyDeleteReally inspiring Barb. I can't wait to see the remodel after pictures in the fall.
ReplyDeleteGo, Barb! I can totally relate to a few things you said: 1)my nonfiction and fiction numbers flipped. I have much more fiction now, and although I have nonfiction books, students can access so much online. 2)shelves do look empty but I cannot keep up with students requests to get new books and I expect the shelves to fill up quickly....and part of my collection is now online and not visible when walking into our space. 3)I, like you, put off weeding nonfiction and it was overdue. It is a beast of a job, but necessary. You're going to have so much fun getting newer materials/resources for you community.
ReplyDeleteBarb has done a fabulous job getting ready for our new "Heart". Not only has done a fabulous job weeding, but she also has taken on a leadership role in our work around innovative learning spaces. Thanks, Barb.
ReplyDeleteJohn Riggs, Manhattan Principal