Weeding Policy

All libraries must remove volumes from their collections from time to time. The Earl K. Long Library is committed to maintaining collections that support the research and educational programs of the University of New Orleans, both in traditional disciplines and in areas of current interest. Weeding, in other words, the process of withdrawing items from the library, is an essential aspect of maintaining a quality collection. Removing materials from one library collection to another, for example, from reference to the circulating stacks, is considered transferring, not weeding, and is not subject to this policy. This document provides a policy statement on weeding and guidelines for reference librarians, subject bibliographers, and support staff.

The primary responsibility for weeding rests with the subject bibliographers, who weed those parts of the collection (including journals, circulating books, and reference books) which pertain to his or her subject(s). The main criteria that will be considered before material can be removed from the shelves are:

whether the content of the item is inappropriate for this library, and
whether the item is physically deteriorated beyond repair.

Even if the content of a volume might be considered obsolete, the historical significance of the publication must also be taken into consideration. For this reason, items are never withdrawn simply because their content is outdated. Other decisions based on appropriateness may be attempts to reverse questionable additions to the collection made in the past, especially in the case of non-academic (e.g., high school level) books, or they may be based on changes in the curriculum or research interests of the faculty (e.g., the dissolution of a program or the retirement of a faculty member). If the decision to withdraw a title is based on the physical condition of the title, every attempt will be made to replace the content of that title -- if it is in print, to replace that exact item, or, if it is not in print, to purchase a similar title. Whenever it seems appropriate to do so (e.g., when the book in question is over 100 years old), the Head of Louisiana and Special Collections should be consulted; volumes may be transferred from the open stacks to Special Collections.

Since withdrawal mistakes are irreversible, the decision to withdraw a title will be made on a case by case basis and only after careful deliberation. If there is any doubt about removing a volume, it should remain in the collection. Shortage of space and/or infrequency of circulation are not in themselves justifications for withdrawal. Other librarians and/or departmental faculty members may be consulted, as needed, if there is a question about the appropriateness of a title for the library's collection.

Some types of material that might be withdrawn are:

Duplicate copies of an infrequently circulated title.
Items that are in such poor condition that they are beyond repair (e.g., books with extremely brittle pages, previously repaired books that cannot be repaired again, mildewed books, heavily mutilated books, etc.).
Individual issues or very short or scattered runs of periodicals and serials.
Items that do not fit the library's collection development policy for the subject area (e.g., older undergraduate textbooks, especially multiple copies).
Superseded editions, if there is no historical or academic value to the older editions (e.g., travel guides, looseleaf services).

None of the above criteria should be thought of as automatically leading to a decision to withdraw a particular volume.