Dumbing Down
The Fairfax County Virginia Library has pulled some books by Marcel Proust, Thomas Hardy, and William Faulkner from the shelves because they aren't frequently checked out.
Aargh.
posted by Michael Wade @ 7:08 AM
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Weeding a library is an important part of collection management, and the uproar of the populace at removing books is just as common. The bottom line is that if a book isn't moving, it's just taking up expensive shelf space. Librarians either toss old books, stop buying new ones, or get more space.
I'm surprised at the two-year cutoff in this case, but different libraries have different standards, and of course the librarian in charge of collections is free to ignore any recommendations of the computer software. Tossing the Hemingway in one branch of a library may not be so bad if other branches still have it. Centralized collection management across an entire library district makes checking this easy.
I've heard of librarians who have a discard pile in the back room and take home a book or two a day to throw away at home, because of the wailing and gnashing of teeth if they were to throw them out all at once where someone can see them. It's an important part of the job, but one that nobody wants to see.
Here's a site that talks about the importance of weeding and gives guidance to librarians. Especially enjoyable is the page where librarians tell of the atrocious volumes they've discovered.
Andy,
Thanks for the great observations and points. My concern is not the librarians - I have many friends and clients in that profession - but is instead with the change in reading tastes...although I confess that I'm still, very slowly, slogging through Proust.
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