The Huntsville Public Library has been moving forward since the City passed along the library’s day-to-day operation to a private concern, with City oversight.
To update you on what’s getting underway, the library has passed along that libraries use a process called weeding to keep the collection fresh and ensure all materials are in good condition. Ideally, libraries weed continuously. Weeding is the systematic review, evaluation, and removal of library items based on selected criteria. Criteria for each item include the overall physical condition of the item, the number of times the item was borrowed from the library, and accurate and current information.
Weeding has long been part of Huntsville Public Library operation. The Library has, however, not completed a comprehensive weeding project since approximately 2017 due to a lack of storage space as discarded items are typically stored for auction. The Library is working with Better World Books, a company that will remove the discarded items from the Library to resell. Eligible items will receive a credit that can in turn be used to support the collections budget.
Library Director Rachel McPhail and staff are ready to do a weeding project with the unanimous support of the Library Advisory Board. The library board met on Thursday, March 30, 2023 and voted to support the recommendation of staff to the weeding process to open up space for new materials to the library collection.
