Weeding or Rightsizing? Why Not Collection Adjustment?

Abstract

Almost twenty years into the twenty-first century, libraries are under more pressure than ever to maximize use of their physical spaces, often through reduction in the size of print collections to allow for more study and collaborative user spaces. Print reduction is a balancing act of thoughtful review and stakeholder input, with assessment strictly by title circulation or book condition no longer acceptable in many academic environments. This session examines a new way of thinking about book and journal footprints in the library. What are the tools librarians can adopt to justify retaining current titles and housing future volumes? How do we involve stakeholders so that we see each other as partners with a common goal? What kind of workflow and time does this investment in adjusting the collection require and can it be scaled?  This paper will examine these issues and offer practical advice from her professional background and experiences in adjusting a collection size based on renovation needs.