LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES POLICY. Co-ordinating Exco member Vice-Rector: Research - Prof RC Witthuhn ( )

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1 Annexure A.2 LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES POLICY Document number Document name Weeding Policy Co-ordinating Exco member Vice-Rector: Research - Prof RC Witthuhn ( ) Contact Director: Library and Information Services Mrs K.B. Eister ( ) Status Approved by 3 Date approved 3 Date last amended 3 Date for next review 3 October annually Related policies

2 Page 2 of 5 1. TITLE Name: Weeding Policy 2. PREAMBLE/BACKGROUND It is the policy of the University of the Free State Library and Information Services (UFS LIS) to manage the library collection on a regular basis. The intention is to keep library collection that is current, relevant and in good physical condition. To this end the library collection shall be assessed periodically and those that are redundant shall either be donated and/or sent for pulping to an approved waste paper company. Weeding leads to: - An up-to-date and useful resource collection appropriate to the aims and needs of the University; - Easier access to quality resources; - An increase in the use of the collection; - Better use of available space; - A more appealing appearance of the collection; - The consolidation of the reputation of the collection as a source of reliable information; and - Less waste in staff time for cleaning, storing and recording unused or unwanted resources 3. PURPOSE The purpose of this policy is to set rules and regulations which guide the removal of redundant information resources from the collection. 4. SCOPE This Policy applies to the Collection Development Committee members made up of staff members at Acquisitions, Information Services, Journals, Cataloguing Sub-Divisions, and Branches/Campuses; in consultation with academics.

3 Page 3 of 5 5. DEFINITIONS ANDABBREVIATIONS - Information resources means books, compact discs, videos, newspapers, periodicals/magazines, and audio-visual and multimedia. - Recycling means selling redundant books to a waste paper company. - Weeding means assessing the relevancy of information resources and permanently discarding/removing them from the shelves. 6. POLICY CONTENT AND GUIDELINES 6.1 Criteria for Books on Open Collection: Currency (Date of publication): - Books that are generally 20 years and older, with the exception of the following: Books with research value Law: Not weeded. South African History and Biography: Not weeded, but transferred to Special Collections. Technology: weeded after 10 years Literature: Not weeded - Books whose later editions are purchased and older versions are of no value for teaching, learning and research; and - Books whose content have become so outdated that they are no longer useful Appearance and Physical condition: - Books that are torn beyond repair and with outdated appearance that might discourage use; - Books with broken spine, brittle paper, worn out and/or missing pages; - Books with missing pages, making the book to make no sense; - Badly bound books, with faded print - Worn out books, with dirty brittle and yellowed pages Frequency of use: Books that have been on the shelves for 3-5 years and not circulated Relevancy of content: - Books which are not relevant to the local cultural beliefs, religion, and local history.

4 Page 4 of Format - Books which are not appropriate to abilities, interests and needs of students, e.g. reading levels, changes in interest, etc. - Accuracy of the subject matter in terms of responding to user needs. - Books that do not match university curriculum needs. - Older editions of books. - Ease of access to the information - if item is poorly organized, has no index or table of contents Duplicate/Multiple copies: Books that have been donated in multiple copies, especially if they are rarely used. 6.2 Criteria for Reference Collection - Almanacs and Yearbooks: Weeded annually - Dictionaries : Weeded as and when necessary (Discretionary), such as when torn beyond repair - Directories : Weeded annually - Encyclopaedias: Weeded after 10 years or when online copies have been sourced - Maps: Digitized after 5 years and then weeded 6.3 Criteria for Periodicals: - Journals: Not weeded - Magazines: Weeded annually - Newspapers: Weeded quarterly 6.4 Criteria for Special Collections: Not weeded 6.5 Criteria for eresources: Annual review/assessment of databases shall determine the continuation or termination of the subscription. The main determinant shall be usage vs costs. 6.6 Criteria for Audio-visual materials: These information resources shall be kept until content is irrelevant, irreparably damaged, no longer audible enough or hardware no longer available. Information resources that are acquired as accompanying materials to books shall be weeded along with the said books. 7. Information Resources to be permanently retained - Africana/Local history - Archival materials, e.g. University publications, photographs - Classics works, e.g. Literature

5 Page 5 of 5 8. Methods of disposal of weeded materials - Donation - Selling - Transferring to the University Archives - Recycling/Pulping 9. FLOWCHART Information Librarian assess the relevancy of the book Is the book torn beyond repair? Weed permanently Change status and send for repairs Cataloguers remove the book from the catalogue Administrative Officer arranges with waste-paper company for pulping Shelvers pack books in boxes Cataloguers create a list of weeded books Director signs off weeded materials