Category: Practical Librarian

This is the place where we put more serious discussions of librarianship.

Washington Redskins

A Flag on the Play

Practical Librarian 12 comments

Washington Redskins
NFL Up Close
Smolka
2017

Since this is a bit more serious than just a discussion on a book, I am filing it under the Practical Librarian tab. This post is a bit longer than usual and illustrates one of the bigger philosophical aspects of collection development. I am only raising questions, and as usual, I am not telling anyone to weed or not weed a particular title. This is only my opinion and reflects some of the discussions I have had with my colleagues.

I was filing some books and this one jumped out at me. It is your basic football book outlining some key players and brief (very brief), sanitized, history of the franchise. Most public library collections probably have a similar set, with extra books on the hometown favorite. My library has a book on all the NFL franchises, but as we are in Metro Detroit, our sports choices will naturally favor Detroit area sports teams.

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Mary's library for weeding

Library Death Cleaning

Practical Librarian, Swedish Death Cleaning 10 comments

Since I am working from home right now, I have set up shop in what we call “the library.” Most of the stuff in this room are books, pictures, and some miscellany from family. This room is more for reading and not working. However, I wanted to keep library work separate from my other stuff, so I used this room so I could spread out.

We have a LOT of books in this room. Most of the time, I don’t pay attention since I mostly read library books. I can’t remember the last time I looked at titles in here. Combine this with the fact that I turned 60 last month, and we have known people that have been sick – and in some cases died – from COVID-19, I had a literal Swedish Death Cleaning moment. I am not planning to die soon, but I have decided that it’s time to get rid of our detritus throughout the house, starting with this room.

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2020

Post Holiday Reference

ALB Announcements, Practical Librarian 5 comments

2019 is dead and buried. It’s time to return to work. Both Holly and I return to work tomorrow ready to help patrons cope with our new year. Before the week is out, at least 10 people will comment that they are still using 2019. I will be wondering what day it is probably for at least a week due to crazy schedules and holidays.

For those of us in public libraries, summer reading will start kicking into high gear and many of us will be writing annual reports for the library. It really is the most wonderful time of the year.

Here are some typical reference desk scenarios you can expect on your return to work.

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Weeding Case Study

Weeding in an Academic Library – a Case Study

Practical Librarian 3 comments

A reader reached out and asked if they could share an anecdote about an interaction with a faculty member over their weeding process. We thought that was a great idea, and we welcome other case studies as well. Do you have a weeding story to share? Here are some ideas:

“My boss won’t let me weed” – How did you approach the boss, and what was their response?
“I took over a job from a long-time hoarder.” – How did you approach cleaning up that mess?
“I weeded something that turned out to be important.” – Oops! How did you remedy the situation?
“My library is starting a large weeding project.” – Did you create a weeding plan? What was the approach to get staff and patrons on board?

Below is a description of our first case study submitter’s interaction.

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