Weeding

How familiar are you with weeding? I don't mean pulling unwanted plants from a garden, but rather removing books from a library collection.

Most of the population is pretty unfamiliar with weeding in librarianship. It isn't uncommon to first encounter weeding when someone finds the product--a pile of books in a bin--and is immediately horrified by libraries and librarians getting rid of them. It's unfortunate that they enter at that point, and aren't exposed to the beginning. Every librarian understands weeding is essential, and most will engage in weeding throughout their career. We even share our interesting finds on social media (#AdventuresInWeeding #WeedingWednesday) with each other.

Books to be evaluated (top) and to be removed (lower two levels)

The point of weeding is to remove outdated material so it can be replaced with newer, more accurate versions. Information changes as we learn more and society evolves. 

People rarely question the need for discards and updates in other industries. No one wants to rent a VHS or laser disc or even DVDs from Netflix; a dwelling that relied on a fireplace for heating and an icebox for food storage is undesirable.

Even in a specialized library service area like the PTRC, we have to weed our collections, so I thought it would be useful to share some of the process and explain why it's beneficial. After all, there will be a large number of disposed PTRC materials in the near future, so any public outcry can be directed here.

For those who may be unfamiliar, there was an enormous change in US patent law in 2011. So much of the previous system was overhauled that just about anything covering US patents published pre-2011 is now completely irrelevant. Unfortunately, that means almost everything about patents in our collection from before 2011 is also irrelevant. So far, I've removed all of the patent-focused books for evaluation; most will be discarded. Exceptions are patent case law series, books on the history of patents, and those concerned with patents abroad. 

Some of the evaluated materials we are keeping

It's also been a shock to learn how many books on software and domain development and protection we have from the 1990s and early 2000s. Just like the patent legal landscape has completely transformed, so has software technology and the internet. Even if copyright laws remained the same (and they most certainly do not), those books would still be completely out of touch. 

A third category of materials has been obsolesced within the past year: patent searching manuals. Materials published after 2011 are also mostly inaccurate, too, because the USPTO released a new search tool in early 2022 and discontinued its predecessors later that year. Fortunately, this is a much smaller set.

New gaps in our shelves

After taking the three above factors into consideration, most of those books still need evaluating. Do they have any relevant information that makes them worth keeping? Are there newer editions in our section or the larger Fondren collection? Does a newer edition exist that can easily replace it?

More shelf gaps that will likely grow larger

Then, we have to consider if the materials slated for discard without new editions need some kind of replacement. Some don't need updates, like guides to filing patent or trademark applications online; the only way to apply is online. Personal experience-based guides, academic monographs, and industry/professional association booklets offer valuable information, but require review. 

Come visit our refreshed PTRC collection in the next few weeks. Until then, chances are you will find me in the stacks a couple times a day, as I cart books back and forth to my office.