Weeding and Maintenance of Reference Collections »

Here is unique volume offering practical advice on weeding and maintaining reference collections. It covers different types of libraries—academic, corporate, public—and problems, and librarians describe in detail methods and criteria used by their libraries in weeding their reference collections.

Dr. Pierce has organized the topics of her book into relevant chapters. These chapters, bound to appeal to a variety of needs, address and discuss the problems and management of growing reference collections. As many librarians find weeding reference books a difficult task, most reference departments suffer from a lack of space as a result. Collection growth reduces shelf and seating space, and both books and people are lost in the clutter.

In reading this essential book, reference supervisors will come to understand the importance of allowing reference area growth combined with effective weeding to promote an attractive and well-stocked reference area. Heads of reference will find Weeding and Maintenance of Reference Collections full of useful information, from the specific criteria and detailed methods contributed by several librarians who have found success in weeding their reference collections, to the practical hints on planning and evaluating collection contents and organization. Students and faculty of library schools and information studies will gain insight into successful management of increasing amounts of reference material as the Information Age gathers momentum into the 1990s.

Booknews

Also published as The Reference librarian, no.29, 1990. No index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Contents Weeding and Maintenance of Reference Collections: Editor’s Introduction

• The Responsive Reference Collection: Planning for Service Versus Self-Service in the Reference Area
• Evaluation of Corporate Reference Collections
• Applying the Fairfax Plan to Reference Collection Management: A Strategy
• Reference Collection Development Using the RLG Conspectus
• Weeding and Evaluating the Reference Collection: A Sns: A Review and Case Study
• A Program for the Systematic Weeding of the Reference Collection
• “Let’s Get Rid of It”: A Reference Librarian’s Battle Cry
• Managing the Reference Collection: The Practice of Pruning