Karl E. Mundt Library Collection Weeding Policy

 

Purpose

 

One goal of the Karl E. Mundt Library is to provide current and/or relevant print materials for teaching, research, and student needs related to the programs and courses offered at Dakota State University.  To meet this goal, the library’s collection must be continually evaluated based on the criteria listed below. Any materials failing to meet these criteria are subject to deselection pending review by library faculty and involved teaching faculty.

 

Deselection Criteria

 

1. Collection level: How vital is the item for DSU coursework and research?
2. Intrinsic value: Is the item a seminal work in its field?
3. References: Is the item listed in standard indexes, guides, bibliographies, etc.?
4. Duplication: Is demand sufficient for multiple copies of the item?
5. Physical condition: Can a damaged item be repaired?  Should it be replaced?
6. Research value: Are older materials still valuable for research interests?
7. Edition: Is the edition of an item held by the library superseded by a newer edition?
8. Completeness:  Is the item part of a set or series of which the library does not have a complete run?
9. Uniqueness: Is the item held only by DSU?
10. Usage: Has the item been checked out frequently or recently?

 

Deselection Process

 

1. The weeding of any part of the print collection will be primarily overseen by the library faculty. 
2. Teaching faculty will be actively encouraged to participate in and assist with the process.
3. Teaching faculty will be contacted to assist with items that are in their areas of teaching expertise.
4. Library faculty will begin the process by using standard library statistics and methods (e.g., circulation statistics, evaluation of physical condition of item, duplication, uniqueness, etc.) to select candidates for weeding.  Each item selected for weeding will be marked or situated in a conspicuous manner (this manner is subject to change) so that other faculty members can review the item.
5. The reviewer will be informed by a librarian how to indicate whether an item should be weeded or retained.
6. If a faculty member cannot be found or is not available to assist in the weeding process for a particular discipline or field of study, final decisions for deselection will be made by library faculty if the library faculty believes that weeding must take place.
7. Items listed as missing in the library’s catalog will be withdrawn as weeding occurs in the area where the items should have been located.
8. Items that are weeded will be removed from the library’s online catalog within a reasonable time period.
9. Items that are weeded will be redistributed or discarded according to Dakota State University policies and other relevant local or state policies.

 

This policy was written by Dustin Larmore on May 23, 2003.