Fiction Weeding Guidelines

“Fiction doesn’t get dated, it just wears out”

Appearance

Weed books that are in poor physical condition. Also weed those books that are outdated or have unattractive formats, designs, graphics, and illustrations.

Duplicate Volumes

Weed any duplicate copies of fiction which is no longer in heavy demand. Choose which copy to to retain based on binding, appearance (likability), and condition.

Content

• are mediocre or poor in quality.
• are biased or portray stereotypes.
• are superseded by new or revised editions.
• are written at an inappropriate reading level (interpret liberally!)
• are considered uninteresting to a Uni High audience.

• are classics
• are included in “best books” lists
• reflect curriculum content
• contain bookplates, autographs, or honor plates (unless condition is very poor)
• are award winners
• are written by popular author

Date

Weed books that are outdated in content, use, or accuracy. Considered for weeding will be any fiction that has not circulated in the last five years. A book with a copyright date of ten years or older should be considered for weeding; however, do not make a decision to weed based solely on the copyright date of the material. Some older material may be considered classic or may be of great historical value to the collection. Generally, teens will not check out popular fiction that is ten years old or older. Retain newer copies of classics or paperbacks with updated covers over older versions.

Sources for Weeding

Best Books for High School Readers By John T. Gillespie and Catherine Bar (2004).

Senior High School Library Catalog (Sixteenth Edition), H.W. Wilson (2002).