Libraries can improve their ebook collections by weeding them to remove outdated and irrelevant content. This presentation discusses an ebook weeding project at Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio. It discusses the reasons the library attempted an eweeding project, the obstacles it encountered, the decisions it made and the results of the project

Jaffy, Marc

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Franklin University Scholarly Exchange

Franklin University FUSE (Franklin University Scholarly Exchange) All Faculty and Staff Scholarship 9-9-2022 Weeding Ebooks at an Academic Library (Presentation) Marc Jaffy Franklin University, marc.jaffy@franklin.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://fuse.franklin.edu/facstaff-pub  Part of the Collection Development and Management Commons Recommended Citation Jaffy, M. (2022). Weeding Ebooks at an Academic Library (Presentation). Special Library Association Academic & Education Community and ACRL's EBSS Education Committee Retrieved from https://fuse.franklin.edu/facstaff-pub/95 This Presentation is brought to you for free and open access by FUSE (Franklin University Scholarly Exchange). It has been accepted for inclusion in All Faculty and Staff Scholarship by an authorized administrator of FUSE (Franklin University Scholarly Exchange). For more information, please contact fuse@franklin.edu. Weeding Ebooks at an Academic LibraryMarc JaffyScholarly Communications & Affordable Learning Librarian(formerly Acquisitions Librarian)This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License• Why weed?• Print• Ebooks• Franklin University Library Ebook Weeding Project• DDA• Owned• Obstacles / Decisions• What / How• Results / TakeawaysWeeding Ebooks at an Academic LibraryFranklin University• Columbus, Ohio• FTE around 4,000• In Person / Online• Adult Students• Undergraduate, Graduate, DoctoralFranklin University Library• 6 Librarians (4 liaison librarians)• 17,000 – 18,000 physical books• Access to over 350,000 ebooksAt the Mention of an Upcoming Weeding Project, You Feel:​Emotional Reaction​ % of Respondents​Anxious​ 21​Neutral​ 25.2​Good​ 27.1​Excited​ 26.7​Reno, L., & Lowe, M. (2017). Into the weeds: Emotions and deselection in the library. In S. Hines, & M. Matteson (Eds.), Emotion in the library workplace (1st ed.), p. 113. Emerald Publishing Limited.Easier to find Outdated materialRelevance ConditionWhy Weed?Health of CollectionWeeding At Franklin: Physical Books• Is it outdated?• Does it provide misinformation?• Is it irrelevant to our collection/patrons? (Does it support our current curriculum?)• Do we have duplicate copies?• Do we have a newer edition?• Is it in poor condition?Weeding At Franklin: Ebooks• Is it outdated?• Does it provide misinformation?• Is it irrelevant to our collection/patrons? (Does it support our current curriculum?)• Do we have duplicate copies?• Do we have a newer edition?• Is it in poor condition?Functional Differences for Weeding E/PCondition Ownership ManagementNumberThe collection ≈ 350,000 titles• Owned titles (directly purchased)• Owned titles (membership in OhioLINK consortium)• Controlled by OhioLINK (majority)• Purchased through OhioLINK• Leased titles (packages)• DDA (Demand Driven Acquisition) titlesOur Ebook Collection≈ 350,000 titles• Owned titles (directly purchased)• Owned titles (membership in OhioLINK)• Controlled by OhioLINK • Purchased through OhioLINK• Leased titles (packages)• DDA (Demand Driven Acquisition) titles• Why?• What?• Ebook Central DDA Collection (GOBI)• NetLibrary collection (late 1990s/early 2000s)Ebook Weeding Project• Through Ebook Central (managed by GOBI)• Began 2016• Titles added, never removed (unless purchased)• Initial load• Slip plan• Liaison selection• Changes in focus / selection planDDA  (Demand Driven Acquisition)GOBI provided spreadsheet• 13,175 titles in DDA pool• Date added• Method addedDDA  (Demand Driven Acquisition)DDA  (Demand Driven Acquisition)Older than 3 years• Remove titles added by auto selection• Review titles added by liaison selectionWithin 3 years• Keep all titles meeting current slip plan• Review all titles outside of slip plan added by liaison• Remove all titles outside of slip plan added automaticallyDDA  (Demand Driven Acquisition)Results• Automatically keep: 3,057 titles• Automatically remove: 9,338 titles• Review by liaison librarians: 780 titles• Keep: 318• Remove: 462Final numbers• Keep: 3,375• Remove: 9,800Method• Spreadsheet to GOBIDDA  (Demand Driven Acquisition)NetLibraryPilot ProjectCan we weed ebooks?• ICON Health & Economic Studies Books • LSU Library• Waugh, M., Donlin, M., & Braunstein, S. (2015). Next-generation collection management:A case study of quality control and weeding e-books in an academic library. CollectionManagement, 40(1), 17-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/01462679.2014.965864NetLibraryPilot ProjectCan we weed ebooks?• Method• Export list with ISBNs from Sierra• Email to EBSCO• EBSCO “hid” from search results• Delete from SierraNetLibraryWeeding ProjectIdentifying what to weed• Alternatives:• Remove all titles• Remove based on usage data• Liaison reviewNetLibraryWeeding ProjectIdentifying what to weed• Alternatives:• Remove all titles• Remove based on usage data• Liaison review• Size of collection: 14,735 ebooks• Size of reviewing staff: 4• 3,683.75 books / librarianNetLibraryWeeding ProjectLimit by Dewey category• Designate Review / Ignore• 2 librarians review / 1 tiebreaker• Tiebreaker: 94 / 268 review• Total to review: 170 categories (7,921 titles)NetLibraryWeeding ProjectID top 10 “outdated” / 949 to reviewSelected by 4• 005 Computer programming, programs & data• 610 Medicine & healthSelected by 3• 000 Computer science, information & general works• 003 Systems• 364 CriminologySelected by 2• 004 Data processing & computer science• 006 Special computer methods• 330 Economics• 351 Public administration• 370 Education• 384 CommunicationsWeeding At Franklin: Ebooks• Is it outdated?• Does it provide misinformation?• Is it irrelevant to our collection/patrons? (Does it support our current curriculum?)• Do we have duplicate copies?• Do we have a newer edition?• Is it in poor condition?NetLibraryWeeding Project• Marked for removal all but 8 education titles• Alternatives:• Remove all titles• Remove based on usage data• Liaison review• Removal by categoryNext steps:• Faculty check• Remove as in pilot programResults – DDA Weeding• Available titles match collection development goals• Spending / budget• Removed 74% of titles from DDA pool• (removed 9,800 of 13,175)Results – NetLibrary Weeding• Goal: remove outdated/irrelevant books• Goal: make it easier to find contentDid not succeed• Removed some outdated content• Pilot removed 518 NetLibrary• Removed 941 titles• 9.5% of NetLibrary• 0.4% of ebook collectionResults – NetLibrary Weeding“These are truly old! Yes, please remove these books from the ebook collection. We really don’t want our students relying on such old books.” (Baumlein, personal communication, August 6, 2020.)Conclusion • Periodic review / removal of DDA titles worthwhile• Repeated 2022: Same Process• Delete 3933 titles• Keep 2934 titles• Kept 42% (compared to initial kept 26%) • Ebook weeding. Questions to consider• What is the purpose of the eweeding project?• Does the library realistically have the ability to meet these goals? • What does the library control and have the ability to remove? • Staff time / availabilityFor additional information about this project, see:Jaffy, M. (2021). Weeding Ebooks at an Academic Library.Practical Academic Librarianship: The International Journal of the SLA Academic Division, 11 (1), 26-39. Retrieved from https://fuse.franklin.edu/facstaff-pub/92  

Weeding Ebooks at an Academic Library (Presentation)

https://fuse.franklin.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1109&context=facstaff-pub

Weeding Ebooks at an Academic Library (Presentation)

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