I volunteer at my daughter's public school library and have been tasked with weeding its fiction collection (excluding picture books). Here's my problem: unlike non-fiction, which can become obviously out-of-date, fiction doesn't age in the same way. Sure, some old books become dated but other old books become classics. So how do I figure out which are which (other than the obvious, well-known classics or award-winners)?
This is an urban public school which serves a primarily poor population, many of whom speak a language other than English at home. The kids' favorite books are the Wimpy Kid books and books of that ilk. Anything in a diary format and/or with illustrations is popular. As I reviewed the fiction shelves, I found tons of books which I've never seen children take out: books from the 60s and 70s, historical fiction, books about Native Americans, and so on. Those books are, to put it mildly, not exactly flying off the shelves. But some of them are great books. So... how do I decide which books to keep?
Any advice is appreciated.
Can you ask the person who gave you the assignment about his or her priorities or ultimate goals? I'd prioritize books kids are reading over everything else, even if you think they are garbage. And as for what they don't read: I'd set aside all the classics, all the ones you recognize as things you read and loved, anything that looks like a good reference or research project book, and see what's left. Maybe have a date cut-off for the rest, like if it hasn't been checked out in three years it gets weeded out.
ReplyDeleteI'd put in my two cents, but I think Pamela nailed it.
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ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting title: weeding fiction. Liked your post, but can only refer you to Kelly at http://kellykorenek.wordpress.com/ Her blog is called Not Your Typical Librarian. If you're participating in the SCBWI Comment Challenge, I would think you'd run across some other librarians. Sounds like a challenge. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely refer to how many times a book has been checked out; I'm guessing the librarian has that info. Also, the first stage in weeding is duplicate copies and damaged books -- those are easy decisions that can get you in the swing of things.
ReplyDeleteKeep at least one copy of prize books, and also books that you loved (hey, you are the volunteer). I've helped our librarian and boy it's hard for me to take a book off the shelf.
Here from the comment challenge ... and I'd agree. You've got a challenge ahead of you. The three year rule is pretty good. Can you suggest that kids make NEW COVERS for books where the content may still be good ... but the cover is going to be a turn off for any but the most voracious of readers? I know the saying and all but even a classic awesome story is much less so if the cover looks old and ugly. Unless there's someone standing right there telling the student how awesome it is they are going to walk right by it. And by getting rid of some of the really old stuff the kids will be able to find the borderline stuff more easily ... and might discover how much they like it! So, this librarian says when in doubt, throw it out!
ReplyDeleteJust stopping by to say "hi" since we are both on the Comment Challenge list.
ReplyDeleteI weeded my fiction over the summer. First I used the media catalog to generate a report of lowest-circulating books. Those are easy to weed even if they look nice or have awards. Then I looked at ones that checked out a lot in the past, but not lately. I also weeded a few things that were just getting worn out (that I know still circulate) and made a list of what to replace. It's a much smaller section, but the new books kinda jump out now and there's room for growth. I haven't had any kids asking for anything I've weeded. If I do I'll replace it of course, but doubt that'll happen.
ReplyDeleteThis is really hard! It sounds like you've gotten some good advice.
ReplyDeleteDo you sell the books that get weeded out- or what do you do with them? Because maybe they could be upcycled into some art! Have you seen these amazing altered books by Brian Dettmer? http://briandettmer.com/
Anyway- good luck with the tough job. And thanks for visiting me at my blog- it's nice to meet you!! :)
Wow! What a difficult challenge. Books that haven't been checked for a long time is a good start, as with any damaged books. I certainly don't envy you this task.
ReplyDeleteAs a children's librarian I am always fascinated to hear that a librarian can give this job to a volunteer. Does s/he care that little about their bookstock? Have they done anything to promote good books that aren't being read? Before you throw anything out that you think is worthwhile make sure it is still in print. I make a policy of having a complete set of an author's work that is appropriate for my age group and therefore don't throw out things that might be used for an author study. Also are these books leant to teachers and classrooms as part of bulk loans for units of enquiry/ author studies/genre studies etc? If so they may not have been stamped and you won't know that they haven't been borrowed just by looking at them. Have the teachers been asked to comment on what they want saved? As much as I admire you and respect your children's literature knowledge I think the qualified teacher librarian should be selecting the books for disposal and then you can help remove them from catalogues and dispose of them.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting challenge - I'm sure you'll discover gems along the way. Can you track which books have been taken out in the last couple of years and only shortlist for removal those that haven't been taken out? And have you got a plan for what to do with the books you do weed out? Hopefully they can be recycled, even if just given away for free to the kids
ReplyDeleteps Congratulations on just over a year of blogging! I remember us having a conversation about it, and now here, a year later you're going strong :-)
ReplyDeleteThat sounds HORRIBLE. It must be done and of course the old must make way for the new, but... ugh. I would hate that. I don't have any brilliant suggestions and my only less-than-brilliant one would be to see if there's a system where you can find out if a book hasn't been checked out in six months or six years, and weed through that way.
ReplyDeleteAlso, perhaps the weeded books can at least be donated to some sort of child-friendly charitable organization.
Good luck!
Thanks, everyone! I neglected to mention that the library is staffed entirely by volunteers. There is no teacher/professional librarian. NYC public schools are always short of money and the librarian is often the first to go. I am not very tech-savvy but I will ask the "head volunteer" how to access the circulation records.
ReplyDeleteGood luck on a difficult task. Maybe each child gets to take home and keep a weeded book.
ReplyDeleteWhat an assignment. I'm thinking the first thing would be any doubles of books not checked out in a long while. As was mentioned by kinderbooks (above), I would create a "recommended for deletion stack" and let the Librarian or a teacher---whomever is the "lead" for the volunteer library team---make the call. Before tossing, you might suggest having a reading contest for some lesser used books. That is, create a list that kids can pick from and give certificates for reading a certain number of the books from the list---like the old style summer reading challenges. The "contest" could be coordinated with teachers who might assign extra credit for book reports on those lesser read books.
ReplyDeleteWeeding was the hardest thing I ever did at my library. We had a system that basically had us pull for removal any book that hadn't been checked out for two years. That was useful in that often the book hadn't been checked out because it was either lost or really damaged. But also quite often it just wasn't popular. Sometimes I would give it a prime turned-out place on the shelf and see if it went then, if not, then I did get rid of it unless it was a classic. It is hard, but you want shelf space for the books kids will read. Good luck.
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