Hannah Simpson

LIS 60614
November 10, 2019

Meandering through the stacks of the Delaware County District

Library (DCDL), I settled in front of the American history nonfiction
section. It is tucked in the back of the Delaware Main Library;
certainly off the beaten path and not particularly well trafficked by
patrons. The interest in weeding this section is slightly personal, as I
have a father who is prone to seeking out old, yellowing, obscure
titles on history. He regularly has librarians searching for a title to be
sent via ILL and so I was curious what sort of historical titles the local
library had for this kind of niche reader, while remaining a healthy
and relevant collection at large. The section is well lit, and the
shelves are not too crowded. Indeed, it seems like it may be a little
sparse. There’s plenty of room on the shelves, and I am nervous that
this section may have been recently weeded by library staff.

DCDL is a five (soon to be six) location library system and they have a floating collection. This
means that as materials are checked out, returned, and requested at different locations books
may live at different locations but all be equal parts of the collection. After determining what
books I would cull from this physical shelf, I consulted the catalogue to see if there were any
additional copies at other locations in the system.

DCDL is also a member of the Central Library Consortium (CLC). Card holders at DCDL can
request items from CLC libraries to be delivered and placed on hold for them as if these items
were part of the DCDL collection. This expands the offerings to patrons and requires that we
can be a bit more decisive when weeding the collection at DCDL. Therefore, I also considered
what was available from CLC members too when making recommendations for this set of
shelves.

1. The Price Guide to Civil War Collectibles​ (1999)

For a 20 year old book, ​The Price Guide to Civil War Collectibles ​is in pretty
solid condition. The pages have a slightly brittle feeling to them as is
common in older books, especially paperbacks. This book is a good
candidate to be removed from the collection as it is now irrelevant.
Collectibles and their values fluctuate over time and thus renders this copy
totally irrelevant. I recommend selling this copy to a book recycling
organization or donating to the Friends of the Library (FOL), which is the
current practice at this library.
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2. The Case of Abraham Lincoln ​(2007)

There are two copies of this title on the shelf at this location. There is also
one copy sitting at an annex location at a local community college that is
part of the DCDL collections as well. There are a further two copies
available through the CLC member libraries. It’s the most recent of all the
titles on this list, so its recommendation for culling is due to the fact that
there are multiple copies within the system. I’d donate two of the three
copies owned by DCDL to the Friends of the Library for resale.

3. Lincoln at Gettysbug (​ 1992)

Two copies of this nearly 30 year old book currently sit on the shelf. Seven
additional copies are available through the CLC. This tells me that even
though it’s an older title it is likely still relevant. This may be a foundation
work on Lincoln’s time at the Gettysburg following the infamous battle and
his landmark speech there. But I don’t think DCDL needs two copies and
so I suggest giving one copy to the FOL to sell at a book sale.

4. Glory Road (​ 1952)

This book is definitely part of the DCDL collection, but it really needs culled
from the collection. It was printed in 1952 and there are definitely more
recently published versions. Oddly, I wasn’t able to even find this in the
catalogue. It’s ugly, it’s old, but in seemingly decent condition considering
it’s nearly 70 years old. If it’s an important work, perhaps it’s time to order a
new copy. It doesn’t seem to be subject to a lot of wear and tear so I
suspect it rarely circulates. This copy has got to go. Perhaps the FOL will
be able to sell it to someone looking for older books to decorate a space or
craft with it.

5. Witness to Gettysburg ​(1989)

This book stuck out to me due to its yellowed and vaguely sticky jacket. In
short it’s old and ugly. There is only this one old copy in DCDL’s collection,
but a search revealed that there are two 2006 editions by the same author
available at CLC libraries. I recommend that the 1989 edition be removed
from the collection, but next steps are less certain. Should DCDL order a
copy of the 2006 edition or let any need for this title be fulfilled by the two
copies available in CLC? My instinct is to let the CLC copies be DCDL
patrons options when searching for this title for now. If demand should
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increase, then reconsider purchasing a copy for the DCDL collection. This allows the
money that might be used to purchase a copy to be used to purchase another more
relevant title for the collection.

6. Prelude to the Century, 1870-1900 ​(1999)

There are two copies of this book in the DCDL system and both are
sitting on the shelf at the Delaware Main Library. One is bound in
the typical plastic over a paper jacket and the other has a more
durable hardcover with the same images that a dust jacket has. The
catalogue reveals that there are five other copies of this book in the
CLC system and no other library has more than one copy. I suggest
that DCDL cull one copy from their system and give it to the FOL. I
suggest eliminating the copy that has plastic over the dust jacket as
it is less sturdy than the other copy, though in good condition.

7. The Glory and the Dream ​(Written in 1974; 1990 edition on shelf)
This book is, first of all, ugly. Its pages are brittle and yellow. Secondly, this
history of America from 1932-1972 was published only two years after the
scope of its contents ends. The ramifications of events happening during the
contents of this history book could not have been resolved by then -- for
instance the Vietnam War was still going on. This means that the content of
the book is likely incomplete or misleading. There are three other copies
available through CLC, but I’d remove this title from the DCDL collection and
offer it to the FOL. There is no need to replace this title.

Through this exercise, I have learned that although a segment of a collection may appear trim
and well kept, there is always room for reevaluation. I also see very little need for multiple
copies of a history title in one collection, especially when it is so easy to obtain copies of these
infrequently circulated titles from CLC libraries. I wish I had access to the circulation history of
some of these objects so that I could make a more informed decision. Making weeding a
regular practice and not a monumental event is key to keeping a collection in check. It’s easy to
get rid of books that are in poor physical condition, but I found it much more difficult to decide if
books were still relevant based on their content. With more practice, and input from a
supervisor, I believe I could be even more successful at weeding.