It has been three years living in an institutional ghost, we have decided its time to reconsider the role of the library at frontyard and reevaluate its relationship to its history. What in the collection is relevant to us as a community, and what would we like to add to the collection?
Process
(This is a work in progress, derived from a meeting of librarians on the 25th of May 2019)
The process described below will become an ongoing project for the library - to allow us to constantly evaluate the state of the collection, and allow room for new acquisitions.
1. First Pass
Any visitor to the library is welcome to contribute to this process.
We are designating books for potential weeding by turn them so that there spines face upwards. These are then grouped together at the beginning of the shelf, and separated from the other books by a red slip.
Everyone is invited to take part in this process.
2. Decision Meeting
We will have an open meeting where collectively we work through each of the books designated for weeding in the first pass. For a book to be discarded it will require a majority consensus all those present. If consensus cannot be met the book will remain in the collection.
Photograph of the books cover, the decision, and reasoning will be archived on Instagram and/or flickr.
3. Disposal
If books are deemed rare but do not contribute to the FY Library Mission, than we will find the book a new home (NLA, State Library, Local Library).
If books are not rare than there are a number of options,
1. re-purposing (collage, papermaking workshops, etc)
2. discard via recycling bin
3. burn
4. free to a good home
Evaluating if a book should be kept or not
1. Does the book contribute the Frontyard Library's mission?
If "yes", then the book is a keeper.
If "no", continue to consider the following factors.
2. Is the book available in other libraries?
3. Is it available online (aaaaarg, libgen, etc)?
4. Is its physical form important to its use?
5. Is it obsolete?
6. Does it have "quirk" factor?
Given the answers to 2-6, should inform the final decision, and the method of disposal. For example if the book is not available in other libraries we should find it a new home.