After working on the inventory all week, I'm still not quite finished scanning each and every item yet. I will have to continue it next week with the library open, but I will also be able to have my aides in there to help out, which wasn't possible with the TELPAS testing going on Wednesday through Friday.
Another thing I have been doing as I scan is noticing how many things are out of date and making stacks of them to be weeded from our collection. Another librarian pointed out to me that by not removing what needs to be removed, it's easy to think that our library has everything it needs, when that isn't actually the case.
Austin ISD Libraries have been underfunded for far too long, and that has led to the deterioration of the quality of our collections, and so we cannot serve our students as well as we should. For a reference point, the Texas Education Agency has set a standard of the purchase price of one book per student per year as a minimum amount of funding, with the current cost of a library book being set at $20. I am only certain of the funding my library has received, and only one year during my tenure at Fulmore has it been fully funded.
I have a goal that our library will have an up to date collection within five years' time, and that begins with making room for the new by removing the old.
And yes, it is hard to get rid of materials. Librarians love books, and getting rid of them is not a decision made lightly, but it does become a quicker decision after years of experience. We consider if the item is damaged, has become obsolete (think Pluto), un-used (and therefore just taking up space), or if we have newer copies that are in better condition. The actual acronym is MUSTY, for Misleading, Ugly, Superseded, Trivial, and Your collection (e.g. I don't have a need for...).
There are some books that I have removed from the catalog but not from the building. For example, the book about the Nixon family that was written Pre-Watergate. That's somewhere in my office.
So, expect to see emptier shelves, and hopefully soon shiny new book covers staring out at you.
Another thing I have been doing as I scan is noticing how many things are out of date and making stacks of them to be weeded from our collection. Another librarian pointed out to me that by not removing what needs to be removed, it's easy to think that our library has everything it needs, when that isn't actually the case.
Austin ISD Libraries have been underfunded for far too long, and that has led to the deterioration of the quality of our collections, and so we cannot serve our students as well as we should. For a reference point, the Texas Education Agency has set a standard of the purchase price of one book per student per year as a minimum amount of funding, with the current cost of a library book being set at $20. I am only certain of the funding my library has received, and only one year during my tenure at Fulmore has it been fully funded.
I have a goal that our library will have an up to date collection within five years' time, and that begins with making room for the new by removing the old.
And yes, it is hard to get rid of materials. Librarians love books, and getting rid of them is not a decision made lightly, but it does become a quicker decision after years of experience. We consider if the item is damaged, has become obsolete (think Pluto), un-used (and therefore just taking up space), or if we have newer copies that are in better condition. The actual acronym is MUSTY, for Misleading, Ugly, Superseded, Trivial, and Your collection (e.g. I don't have a need for...).
There are some books that I have removed from the catalog but not from the building. For example, the book about the Nixon family that was written Pre-Watergate. That's somewhere in my office.
So, expect to see emptier shelves, and hopefully soon shiny new book covers staring out at you.