facing fears about deselection; strategies to help both faculty & librarians feel safe Caroline Mills Assistant Director for Collection Services
May 30, 2015
facing fears about deselection; strategies to help both faculty & librarians feel safe
Caroline MillsAssistant Director for Collection Services
Furman University Library
• founded in 1830 with 620 volumes• 1907 - space for
25,000• 1950’s - space for
250,000 volumes eventually housing 400,00
Furman University Libraries
• 2004 expansion adding 65,000 SF • 3 libraries• space for
half a million volumes
Furman University Libraries
15,000- 20,000 books added annually for the last 7+ years
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012350,000
400,000
450,000
500,000
550,000
600,000
650,000
20,133 18,004
24,75116,718
Furman University Libraries
Changeorganizational restructuring strategic plan: “Redesign library space to create
innovative, dynamic spaces..”
The need to develop a deselection process that was integrated, systematic and inclusive
facing our fears
Full library involvement and investment in the process
facing faculty fears
Focus group to respond to questions
“Are there related library policies that speak to the library's obligation to keep certain books as a matter of historical or intellectual concerns?”
“What obligation does the library have for books that have been given to the library?”
“What is the library's obligation--in concert with all other libraries--to keep certain books for future generations of researchers?”
the process
Furman University Deselection GuidelinesKey FeaturesOngoingData basedMulti-phased Inclusive
the communication
The library staff is assessing our PZ collection. This collection consists primarily of popular fiction published in English prior to 1980. We began this project to remove older, unused books and books in poor condition, to ensure the collection remains useful and accessible and to make space for new acquisitions. We started by looking at books in this range that haven’t circulated for over 10 years and from there added criteria including condition and multiple copies. We retained or replaced with newer copies the following:• award-winners and books listed in Books for College Libraries• books that cover topics related to Furman’s curriculum • books by notable authors and illustrators• books related to Furman or South Carolina Our librarians will be examining these candidates closely and we invite you to evaluate them either using the attached list or in person. These books will be available for evaluation from April 15-June 15, Monday-Friday from 9AM until 5PM in the Technical Services Suite, (004) in the lower level of the James B. Duke Library. You can also find a list of the candidates and other criteria for the project at: http://libguides.furman.edu/deselection.We appreciate your help in making sure our collection remains useful to you and our students!If you have any additional questions please email Caroline Mills ([email protected]) or call 864.294.2264. About the PZ’sThe Library of Congress used the PZ classification between 1906-1980. Only juvenile fiction is currently classed in the Library of Congress PZ range.
the projects
• Juvenile Collection deselection• PZ deselection • Government Documents deselection
the results
• Juvenile Collection [2,372 titles withdrawn 3/13]• PZ Collection [1,309 titles withdrawn 6/13]• Government Documents [23,000+ candidates]
As long as the following books are in decent physical condition, and as long as we don’t have other copies, I’d recommend removing them from the deselection list: #25 (Oates), #42 (Ford), #49 (Malamud), #109 (Heyward), #116 (O’Hara), #127 (Meredith), #135 (Nabokov), # 143 (McCarthy), #177 (Oates), #186 (McCarthy), #210 (Oates), #269 (Oates), #317 (Gold), #322 (Stein), #434 (Dunbar), #462 (Owen), #495 (Roth), #506 (Meredith), #509 (Heyward), #510 (O’Hara), #521 (Oates), #533 (Waugh), #550 (Fox), #593 (Oates), #618 (Singer), #628 (Meredith), #636 (Roth), #641 (O’Hara), #707 (Ford), #718 (Fisher), #720 (Fox), #729 (Meredith), #740 (Owen), #742 (Fisher), #749-51 (O’Hara—one copy), #752 (Styron), #766 (Harris), #778 (Oates), #793 (Heyward), #795 (Day Lewis), #805 (Caldwell), #816 (Hughes), #828 (Mansfield), #838 (Owen), #840 (Greene), #860 (Fisher), #870 (O’Hara), #907 (Fisher), #920 (Meredith), #946 (Owen), #965 (Roth), #969 (Oates), #999-1001 (Lewis—one copy), #1012 (O’Hara), #1042 (Ford), #1057 (O’Hara), #1059 (Styron), #1104 (O’Hara), #1112 (Meredith), #1130 (Cooper), #1152 (Du Bois), #1167 (De la Mare), 1186 (Cooper), 31232 (Scott), #1238 (Malamud), #1297 (Shaw), #1307 (Wier), #1346 Wharton), #1360 (Oates), #1400 (Roth), #1407 (Crane), #1408 (Jones), #1425 (Oates), #1430 (Oates)……….
the problems
• Time intensive• Limited space• Faculty (and librarian) burnout• You probably can’t do this at your library
the future
• Creation of a Center for Academic Success in the Duke Library• Shared collection initiative-The
Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries (PASCAL)• Removal of VCRs from all classrooms• Addition of 65,000 DDA titles to our
catalog
Caroline Mills, Ph.D. Assistant Director for Collection Services
Part II
“What are countless books to me, and libraries of which the owner in his whole life
will scarcely read the titles?”Seneca 4 B.C.-65 A.D.
“if you want roome for modern books, it is easy to remove the less useful into a more
remote place.”Thomas Hollis, 1725
“A small collection of well chosen books is sufficient for the entertainment and
instruction of any man, and all else are useless Lumber.”
Rev. Reginald Heber 1787