[Originally published on the Library Renovations Blog on October 8, 2019] 

With the need to reduce the size of our stacks, the Library needs the help of faculty. 

What does faculty involvement look like? 

Faculty will be hearing from their subject librarian. You may be asked to review spreadsheets or check carts of books. 

What do our timelines look like? 

We will be weeding the collection between October 2019 and February 2020. Faculty members will have 2 weeks to review deselection decisions. 

Why is the library removing books from the collection? 

There are several reasons. 

• The upcoming library renovation will begin to address the substantial space deficit within the Library. Spaces for collaborative learning, research support and new technologies, as well as for contemplation and quiet study, are high priorities for students using the library, and space needs to be created to accommodate these evolving needs. 

• The Library’s mandate is to build a strong undergraduate collection, guided by curriculum. In order to maintain its relevance, the collection must be curated to support evolving university curricula. 

What will happen to the deselected books? 

Weeded material will be offered to Better World Books (BWB) first (at no cost to the University). BWB donates a portion of the proceeds of material they sell to a charity of our choosing. We are still investigating acceptable and environmentally friendly options of disposing of material that is not taken by BWB. 

Why aren’t we using off-site storage? 

An option that was considered and rejected is moving material to off-site storage. Off-site storage was rejected at this time because: 

• We can remove material from the collection without impacting access to material needed to support our programs. Sixty-two percent of the print collection has not circulated in the last 5 years. Also, the physical collection comprises only 19 percent of the total library collection (physical and digital). 

• The cost of off-site storage could be significant. 

What criteria are we using to make decisions? 

This will depend on the subject, but some of the main factors being looked at include condition, age, disciplinary emphasis on physical monographs, relevance to the curriculum, and past use. 

If you have any questions please contact your subject librarian or Karen Keiller at keillerk@macewan.ca