To make space, distribute and bring life to frontyard's library, we need to do some weeding. There's currently a small shelf of new acquisitions of special significance to the space and the communities who use it, at eye level as you enter. We'd like to grow this! What in the collection is relevant and generative, and what would we like to add to the collection?
Process
(This is a work in progress, derived initially from a meeting of librarians on the 25th of May 2019, and updated by the Library & Publications Working Group in February 2023)
The process described below is envisaged to be an ongoing project for the Library - allowing us to constantly evaluate the state of the collection, and make 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 sideways, so that their spines face upwards ('unsure if this should be kept') or downwards ('definitely out!'). These are then grouped together at the beginning of the shelf.
Everyone is invited to take part in this process, whenever they like.
2. Decision Meeting
We will have an open meeting - NEXT WEEDING MEETING 22 FEB 2023 (all welcome!) - 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 from all those present. If consensus cannot be met the book will remain in the collection.
A photograph of the book's cover, the decision, and reasoning will be archived on the Slack #library channel, Instagram and/or flickr.
3. Disposal
If books are deemed rare but do not contribute to the FY Library Mission, then 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 eg. Frontyard's Things Fall Apart collage club, mushroom-growing substrate, paper-making 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.