Spring break and weeding

Oh, how lovely! Spring break is here. Our family enjoyed a great Easter together yesterday full of eggs, food, church, and even a bit of sunshine. The sunshine sure makes everything look pretty, but it also makes the weeds grow. I usually take an organic shortcut by sprinkling vinegar on them. Hubby doesn't think that method is fast enough so if I wait long enough, he will go out and weed with the little shovel. I believe this shows two types of weeders in our libraries. One who goes after it with a quick, sharp edge and one who takes takes their time. Personally, I have used both methods in different situations. I believe y0u should consider your current situation before you decide which is right for you. In 1995 ( I think) I started my first library job. The building was just completing a renovation which included a new wing with a new library. One look around told me exactly what I needed to know about the age of my books. Color was missing from the spines of several different sections of the library. Where color should have been, gray, brown, and dark green was evident. Yikes, I had work to do. In the teacher room, I found tons of filmstrips. Those filmstrips had some really OLD pictures. I did not hesitate to use my proverbial garden shovel and get after the weeding. Nothing slowed me down. Not whining, not mean looks, not worries about what would they use in place of those items, nothing. In hindsight, maybe some folks would think I was too zealous, but I was really shocked at all those really, old books. I didn't finish the whole job during my tenure there, but I sure made a huge dent- a good dent- mind you!!! Now the next time I had to weed, I was able to take my time. I pulled books onto carts and examined the circ records for each item. I took my time before actually boxing them up. I talked to staff members and resource folks, even the nurse gave me info on my health books. What was the difference? The major difference was one library had been weeded on a more regular basis than the other. My advice to you is if you won't make time to weed for your library or your kids or your staff or the health of your collection, then do it for the person who has to follow you!!! If you need some guidelines, I always enjoy the Lousianna State Department of Education charts.
http://www.louisianaschools.net/lde/curr/1811.html
Enjoy your spring weeding!
Roxanne