DE-SELECTION: Weeding or deselection, preservation, and replacement are all important aspects of collection maintenance and evaluation. It is an essential, continuing library practice in which materials are removed permanently from the Libraries’ collections. Whenever possible, both faculty and library staff participate in the weeding process to ensure that publications of historical or research significance are not discarded.
a. Print Resources De-selection Guidelines: De-selection will be based on the following criteria, and materials withdrawn from the collection will be disposed of according to the WVHEPC (WV Higher Education Policy Commission).
- Acid-damaged, aged, brittle materials
- Moldy, mildewed materials
- Torn or missing pages/pieces
- Loose or broken bindings/pieces
- Damage from contact with liquids or other substances
b. Online Resources De-selection Guidelines:
c. Serials De-selection Guidelines: The following additional criteria will be considered when de-selecting serials:
REPLACEMENTS: Materials that are missing, lost, or withdrawn because of wear are not automatically replaced.
Potential replacements are evaluated using the same criteria for selection as regularly purchased items.
PRESERVATION: Preservation is the activity to prevent, eliminate, or retard the deterioration of library materials, as well as to improve their condition or change their format as necessary in order to preserve the intellectual content. The Scarborough Library works to protect the physical integrity of materials in the collection through conservation measures, such as temperature, humidity, and dust control.
The following actions are taken in order to ensure the proper preservation of library materials: