Viewpoint: Weeding is essential for healthy library collections
The public debate continues about the weeding of the National Library of New Zealand’s Overseas Published Collections. After seeing his response on social media, we asked Anton Angelo, University of Canterbury to weigh in with his views on the subject.
LIANZA has already written responses for concerned citizens in support of the weeding on Libraries Aotearoa and Newsroom. You can also read the latest updates from the National Librarian, Bill Mcnaught, here and here.
LIANZA has already written responses for concerned citizens in support of the weeding on Libraries Aotearoa and Newsroom. You can also read the latest updates from the National Librarian, Bill Mcnaught, here and here.
Anton Angelo on pulling back the curtain on values-led library practice
Librarians are good at working behind the scenes to make it as easy as possible for users to get the information they need. Useability and usefulness are key criteria in any system we design. There is a downside though: the work that goes into it, and the hard choices we constantly make, are not always seen by our users.
We can be surprised when our patrons – the community we care so deeply about – are not aware of our values-led practice and are sometimes shocked or outraged.
Nothing shows this more than the process of weeding. We have finite space, finite budgets and finite staffing. Our collections are defined by regulation, cultural practice and the ever changing desires of the communities we inhabit. Our collections are not static, they change over time as new material is constantly added conforming to our collection plans, and the forces of our finite resources make us de-accession material that no longer matches our strategies. Even if we had infinite resources, weeding is still best practice for a healthy collection.
For our users, who want the latest book or paper, or to read a classic; if we’ve done our job, there it is, or we know of a collection that will have it and we can guide them to it, or get it for them.
It’s a bit like the Shepard Tone – an auditory illusion that sounds like it is always climbing in pitch, we always have all the new things, but they don’t hear the way the older lower tones are dropped out. WIthout Tardis-like libraries, where does all the stuff go?
Recently the National Library announced they were looking at deaccessioning their overseas published collections – material that does not fit their regulatory or policy mandates. This is no small matter, there are over a half million items in those collections alone, about the size of a medium academic library. As ever, librarians consulted, discussed, wrote internal documents and probably even literally wrung their hands. Something though, has to give. You can see the development of the National Library and Librarian’s thinking explicitly and transparently displayed on their webpage.
The reaction on social media was pretty immediate:
Sue Tolliss
Here we go book burning erasing history!
Chris Day
Marxism at work – tear down the statue's, destroy the books, what next?
Not all of the comments on the Radio New Zealand story about the project were quite so pure fake news:
Christopher Templeton
Unfortunately what is being disposed of is by far both relevant and useful. New Zealanders do not grow up in an intellectual bubble – we are influenced by trends, ideas, and movements from around the world. For example, the political idea of socialism was not home grown in New Zealand, but rather the idea was adopted by New Zealanders from writings and ideas from overseas. And it is those type of publications that are being gotten rid of. So for anyone researching political history in New Zealand they will be unable to access the writings and ideas that informed and influences politicians here, because there will no longer be copies left in New Zealand.
This is a good representation of a misunderstanding of how libraries work, and how international collaborations and interloan have improved as we have wholeheartedly adopted internetworking as a fundamental part of our processes.
Brian Gill
So the taxpayers in UK, North America and Australia can pay to keep the world's English-language books available in libraries but we don't need to bother? Great attitude.
And sometimes the project directly conflicted with some individual’s specific interests, which is always going to be the case.
Christopher Templeton
Alec Morris Because a lot of the books that are being culled informed and continue to inform ideas, design, and thinking that effects (sic) New Zealanders. For example, ecclesiastical architecture. That school of architecture was for the most of the 19th and 20th centuries a transplant of European design and practices. Therefore, almost all the books relevant to the study have been written and published overseas. Exactly the focus of the books being culled from the National Library.
There were some excellent (if impractical on occasions) suggestions for the deaccessioned material:
Alan Beck
[Seamen appreciate your spare books and magazines]
– Missions to Seamen collection box, Dunedin, NZ.
Rose Cowan
Terry Pratchett for Dargaville please.
Dellwyn Moylan
Marie Mcanulty maybe you could ask for some for your "Little Libraries"
In responding to these concerned people I kept my comments as factual and informative as possible: Libraries are not book museums – they are reflections of commitments and regulation; calling this a book burning was provocative, and uncalled for – the implication this is an ideological cull of illegal ideas is offensive in its own right.
The answer to ‘why can’t you keep everything” is that healthy collections are ones that are relevant and in use. Finite resources are one contributing factor for some libraries, but weeding is something that all libraries must do, as part of good stewardship of their collections. The National Library has pivoted in the face of criticisms to become even more transparent, and put resources into finding other homes for the deaccessioned material.
I know we are a reticent bunch in public, but in cases like this when our processes can be inadvertently opaque to provide a more seamless service become contentious we need to support each other. Offering a library tour showing our processes from beginning to end I think would surprise and delight our detractors, and maybe even win them over.
[The entire FaceBook discussion can be seen at https://www.dropbox.com/s/tuxbiovc47vzcec/Facebook.png?dl=0 - screenshot taken 28 Sept 2020]
Librarians are good at working behind the scenes to make it as easy as possible for users to get the information they need. Useability and usefulness are key criteria in any system we design. There is a downside though: the work that goes into it, and the hard choices we constantly make, are not always seen by our users.
We can be surprised when our patrons – the community we care so deeply about – are not aware of our values-led practice and are sometimes shocked or outraged.
Nothing shows this more than the process of weeding. We have finite space, finite budgets and finite staffing. Our collections are defined by regulation, cultural practice and the ever changing desires of the communities we inhabit. Our collections are not static, they change over time as new material is constantly added conforming to our collection plans, and the forces of our finite resources make us de-accession material that no longer matches our strategies. Even if we had infinite resources, weeding is still best practice for a healthy collection.
For our users, who want the latest book or paper, or to read a classic; if we’ve done our job, there it is, or we know of a collection that will have it and we can guide them to it, or get it for them.
It’s a bit like the Shepard Tone – an auditory illusion that sounds like it is always climbing in pitch, we always have all the new things, but they don’t hear the way the older lower tones are dropped out. WIthout Tardis-like libraries, where does all the stuff go?
Recently the National Library announced they were looking at deaccessioning their overseas published collections – material that does not fit their regulatory or policy mandates. This is no small matter, there are over a half million items in those collections alone, about the size of a medium academic library. As ever, librarians consulted, discussed, wrote internal documents and probably even literally wrung their hands. Something though, has to give. You can see the development of the National Library and Librarian’s thinking explicitly and transparently displayed on their webpage.
The reaction on social media was pretty immediate:
Sue Tolliss
Here we go book burning erasing history!
Chris Day
Marxism at work – tear down the statue's, destroy the books, what next?
Not all of the comments on the Radio New Zealand story about the project were quite so pure fake news:
Christopher Templeton
Unfortunately what is being disposed of is by far both relevant and useful. New Zealanders do not grow up in an intellectual bubble – we are influenced by trends, ideas, and movements from around the world. For example, the political idea of socialism was not home grown in New Zealand, but rather the idea was adopted by New Zealanders from writings and ideas from overseas. And it is those type of publications that are being gotten rid of. So for anyone researching political history in New Zealand they will be unable to access the writings and ideas that informed and influences politicians here, because there will no longer be copies left in New Zealand.
This is a good representation of a misunderstanding of how libraries work, and how international collaborations and interloan have improved as we have wholeheartedly adopted internetworking as a fundamental part of our processes.
Brian Gill
So the taxpayers in UK, North America and Australia can pay to keep the world's English-language books available in libraries but we don't need to bother? Great attitude.
And sometimes the project directly conflicted with some individual’s specific interests, which is always going to be the case.
Christopher Templeton
Alec Morris Because a lot of the books that are being culled informed and continue to inform ideas, design, and thinking that effects (sic) New Zealanders. For example, ecclesiastical architecture. That school of architecture was for the most of the 19th and 20th centuries a transplant of European design and practices. Therefore, almost all the books relevant to the study have been written and published overseas. Exactly the focus of the books being culled from the National Library.
There were some excellent (if impractical on occasions) suggestions for the deaccessioned material:
Alan Beck
[Seamen appreciate your spare books and magazines]
– Missions to Seamen collection box, Dunedin, NZ.
Rose Cowan
Terry Pratchett for Dargaville please.
Dellwyn Moylan
Marie Mcanulty maybe you could ask for some for your "Little Libraries"
In responding to these concerned people I kept my comments as factual and informative as possible: Libraries are not book museums – they are reflections of commitments and regulation; calling this a book burning was provocative, and uncalled for – the implication this is an ideological cull of illegal ideas is offensive in its own right.
The answer to ‘why can’t you keep everything” is that healthy collections are ones that are relevant and in use. Finite resources are one contributing factor for some libraries, but weeding is something that all libraries must do, as part of good stewardship of their collections. The National Library has pivoted in the face of criticisms to become even more transparent, and put resources into finding other homes for the deaccessioned material.
I know we are a reticent bunch in public, but in cases like this when our processes can be inadvertently opaque to provide a more seamless service become contentious we need to support each other. Offering a library tour showing our processes from beginning to end I think would surprise and delight our detractors, and maybe even win them over.
[The entire FaceBook discussion can be seen at https://www.dropbox.com/s/tuxbiovc47vzcec/Facebook.png?dl=0 - screenshot taken 28 Sept 2020]