Assignment+4

Weeding Project  ﻿ LIBE 463 Assignment 4 – Weeding Project Focus Of Weeding - Grade 3 Science Resources Life Science: Plant Growth and Changes Physical Science: Materials and Structures Earth and Space Science: Stars and Planets

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“Weeding or deselection is selection in reverse. It is the practice of discarding or transferring to storage excess copies, rarely used items, and materials no longer in use” (Lamb & Johnson, 2004-2010, The School Library Media Specialist, p.1).

For this weeding assignment I extended my “search” to incorporate the Surrey Public Library as well as my own school library. Due to the newness of our collection at the school, and the community access to the public library (as these same resources could be in a school library), I incorporated both. This allowed me a wider range of resources to work with, as well as hands on experience of what I need to look for when I begin a weeding project in my future school library. Although I was not “physically” allowed to weed, the resources were chosen using the criteria from the quantitative and qualitative data of our school community, and the Surrey School District library policy. 1. Video - Our Amazing Sun - 25 minute video that examines all aspects of the sun and includes historical perspectives. (Marlin Motion Pictures Ltd. 2004) (School) 2. Video - Our Solar System (2000) - 15-minute video describes movements of objects in our solar system. (School) 3. What’s in the Sky? By Ian Smith. QEB Publishing, Inc. (2004) (School) 4. The Solar System. By Robin Kerrod. Lerner Publications Company. (2000) (Surrey Public Library) 5. The Solar System, Spinning through space. By Tim Furniss. Wayland (Publishers) Ltd. 2000. (Surrey Public Library). 6. Galaxies, Galaxies! By Gail Gibbons. Holiday House 2007. (Surrey Public Library) 7. The Planets. Written by Cynthia Pratt Nicolson. Kids Can Press. (1998) (Surrey Public Library). 8. The Reason For A Flower. By Ruth Heller. Scholastic Inc. (1988) (Surrey Public Library). 9. A Seed Is Sleepy. By Dianna Hutts Aston. Chronicle Books LLC. (2007) (School) 10. The Tiny Seed. By Eric Carle. Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers. (1987) (School) According to the // School District No.36 (Surrey) Teacher-Librarian Handbook // (2007) “weeding is the process of eliminating obsolete or damaged materials from the collection. Systematic weeding is not an irresponsible disposal of school property; rather, it is a necessary service that enhances the credibility and usability of the school library” (p. 12). The Surrey School District adheres to the CREW (** C **ontinuous ** R **eview ** E **valuation ** W **eeding) method for collection development, and MUSTIE for weeding (SD 36 Teacher-Librarian Handbook, 2007, p. 12). As well as adhering to the MUSTIE rationale, our TL also likes to check the statistics of usage and relevance of resources from other school libraries in the district. 500 Pure Science – Discard materials with obsolete information and theories (SD 36 Teacher-Librarian Handbook, 2007, p. 13). The two main characteristics of the books for “discard” that I selected had outdated/misleading information and were in poor physical condition. The average age of the resources was 2000. List of Discard Materials: 1. Video - Our Amazing Sun (2004) - ** M **- Outdated with obsolete information. The circulation was high on this resource due to the fact that there are few audio/visual resources to use in this subject area. The teachers informed me that they use this resource and discuss Pluto’s current status. 2. Video - Our Solar System (2000) - ** M **–Misleading/Obsolete information (lists Pluto as a planet). The circulation again was very high on this resource due to the fact that there were limited audio/visual resources for Stars and Planets. 3. What’s in the Sky? By Ian Smith. QEB Publishing, Inc. (2004) ** M **– Misleading/Obsolete information. Listed Pluto as the 9th planet. 4. The Solar System. By Robin Kerrod. Lerner Publications Company. (2000) (Surrey Public Library) ** M **– Misleading/Obsolete information. Showed Pluto as the 9th planet. 5. The Solar System, Spinning through space. By Tim Furniss. Wayland (Publishers) Ltd. 2000. (Surrey Public Library). ** M **– Misleading/Obsolete information. Showed Pluto as the 9th planet. 6. Galaxies, Galaxies! By Gail Gibbons. Holiday House 2007. (Surrey Public Library) ** M ** – Misleading/Obsolete information. Showed Pluto as the 9th planet. 7. The Planets. Written by Cynthia Pratt Nicolson. Kids Can Press. 1998 (Surrey Public Library). ** M ** – Misleading/Obsolete information. Showed Pluto as the 9th planet. 8. The Reason For A Flower. By Ruth Heller. Scholastic Inc. 1988 (Surrey Public Library). ** U – **Worn out beyond fixing. I found this book on the cart the library has to sell discarded books ($.25). It was well used and taped in various places. 9. A Seed Is Sleepy. By Dianna Hutts. Chronicle Books LLC. (2007). 10. The Tiny Seed. By Eric Carle. (1987). Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers. ** U ** – Worn out beyond fixing. This book was the second item that was part of the unfortunate coffee incident. To discard the above weeded resources at our elementary school, the following steps would be taken: - log on to Destiny (Surrey School District) - enter “catalogue” - go to update copies - click on “track as weeded” - enter barcode of resource - place resource in box labeled discard - call for district pickup If the resources are damaged and still contain relevant information, the TL in our school will ask the teachers if they could use the resources to cut out pictures for art or posters. However, any other resources are sent to district to be discarded. The first two selections of my weeding were from the audio/visual area of the collection. The B.C. Ministry of Education includes a list of resources for teachers to use for the science unit on Stars and Planets. Although these two resources are still listed in the B.C. Ministry resource guide (as it hasn’t yet been updated), they would be the first to be discarded and replaced. They were outdated and contained obsolete information. Due to the fact that these videos are “recommended” resources, the teachers considered them still “useable”. Often due to time constraints, the teacher does not preview the resource, and the students are subjected to the obsolete information. The lesson learned with this weeding project was that once something has passed the “expiration” date, it must be discarded in order to help the teachers. If these resources weren’t on the shelves, then the teachers wouldn’t be exposing the obsolete information to the students. The rest of the resources weeded were due to the fact that they were worn and damaged beyond repair. The books that were the most difficult to weed were the // The Tiny Seed // and // A Seed Is Sleepy //. Both these resources were such beautiful books. However, I placed myself in the position of the teacher who would be using these for her unit, and realized I would be repulsed not knowing where those dark brown stains and curled and wavy pages had come from. Although it was a shame to see them go, I now know that they would of stayed on the shelf taking up precious room for books that could be replacing them. Of all the assignments for this course, this was by far the most difficult to rationalize. Looking through the lens of a classroom teacher, there simply was no justification for “throwing” books away. After working in an inner city school where funding was non-existent (and students were already at a disadvantage), all resources became as precious as gold. However, the “aha” moment came while listening to the podcast. During the discussion of the process of weeding from Baumbach & Miller, there were two statements that made me stop and review my preconceived ideas about weeding. These were the statements that weeding is a “selection in reverse”, and that by not weeding it can be “harmful to students”. Harmful to students! Every decision and act of my teaching career is based on what would be beneficial for my students, not to harm them. Could it be possible that not weeding a collection could be detrimental? I began the weeding process of the Grade 3 Science resources by first looking at the physical condition and placement on the shelves. Having a collection that is appealing and easy to access benefits everyone. “It is better to have fresh air and empty space on the shelves than to have musty old books that discourage investigation” (Texas State Library and Archives Commission, p. 13). As the school is new, the resources were in very good condition. Aside from a few small smears of dirt, the books were in good condition and their construction was sturdy. There was no colouring vandalism, pages missing, musty or moist areas, and the bindings were intact. The audio/visual resources were not scratched and easy to view. The second step was to review the quantitative and qualitative data of the resources. Using the circulation record and copyright dates was the starting point of picking out certain resources for closer inspection. . Although the physical condition of these books was good and they showed high circulation, they contained inaccurate information. Even with the high circulation rate, these resources need to be weeded.
 * Weeding Report **
 * Rationale For Weeding **
 * M ** isleading and/or factually inaccurate:
 * U ** gly (worn out beyond mending or rebinding):
 * S ** uperseded by a new edition or a better resource;
 * T ** rivial (of no discernable literary or scientific merit);
 * I ** rrelevant to the needs and interest of your community;
 * E ** lsewhere (the material may be easily borrowed from another source).
 * Plant Growth and Changes **
 * U ** – Worn out beyond fixing. This book was just being discarded due to brown and curled pages from a large cup of spilled coffee. A teacher was preparing for the next science unit when this accident occurred on her desk.
 * Reflection **

Weeding is part of our professional responsibility. Gail Dickinson (2005) in her article stated that “abdicating this responsibility degrades the appearance of the collection and creates the opportunity to spread dangerous or misleading information” (p. 24). Although others may “scorn” or “frown” upon this duty, I now believe it to be one of the most important. Weeding is something we cannot shy away from or be intimidated to not complete. The students have the right to a collection that is reliable and not offensive. They have the right to a collection that is relevant and current. They have the right to the best possible information to help them with their literacy needs. It is our ** responsibility **(and duty) as TL’s to meet the learning needs of every child by “deselecting” and removing anything that can be “harmful”.

Dickinson, G. (2005). Library Media Connection. // Crying Over Spilled Milk //. Retrieved from [] Lamb, A., & Johnson, L. (2004-2010). The School Library Media Specialist. // Information Access & Delivery: Collection Maintenance & Weeding. // Retrieved from [] School District No. 36 (Surrey). (2007). // Teacher-Librarian Handbook. // Retrieved from [] Texas State Library and Archives Commission. // CREW: A Weeding Manual for Modern Libraries. // Retrieved from []
 * References **

