[Baynet] Infopeople's "Weeding for Your Library's Health" workshop

[Linda Rodenspiel]

Since some people who may be interested in attending might not receive this 
notice directly, we would appreciate it if you would print and post or 
route this announcement to staff and colleagues. Thanks!


Title:  Weeding for Your Library's Health

Dates and locations:

Thursday, November 2, San Francisco Public Library
Thursday, November 30, San Diego County Library Headquarters
Monday, December 11, Sacramento Public Library - Galleria
Tuesday, January 9, Woodward Park Library in Fresno

There will be additional sessions scheduled in Los Angeles, Buena Park, and 
Alameda. When the dates have been confirmed, an announcement will be made.

To register for this workshop:  Use the online registration form at
http://www.infopeople.org/workshop/300

Fee:  There is a $75.00 fee for this workshop.

Are you looking for a great way to help people find their way through your 
collections? Maybe you need to weed! Even though the prospect of weeding 
can make both staff and users uncomfortable, no library should overlook the 
value of well-considered pruning.

Does your library maintain a regular weeding schedule?
Have you wondered how to make weeding more politically acceptable?
Do you know where to turn for weeding guidance for various subjects and 
formats?
Would you like to stay ahead of the curve so that major weeding projects 
don't overwhelm you or your resources?

As long as library materials suffer physical damage, and as long as 
intellectual content changes to reflect new discoveries, laws, and customs, 
formerly useful library holdings will continue to become obsolete or even 
dangerous. In this workshop, you will become acquainted with tools that can 
help you weed regularly and intelligently. You will also learn how to 
discuss the benefits of and necessity for weeding with both your staff and 
your public.


Workshop Description: This all-day course will provide students with both 
conceptual and practical information about weeding library collections, 
including the political impact weeding may have on your community's view of 
the library. Through individual and group exercises, students will learn to 
prioritize weeding schedules to match their collections and staff 
resources, to budget so that regular replacements allow damaged material to 
be weeded without loss of intellectual content, and to articulate the 
weeding message effectively for your community. You will practice your new 
skills by completing a weeding plan for one part of your collection (either 
a subject area or a format collection). The instructor will provide sample 
plans, templates, cheat sheets, and a webliography, as well as practical, 
useful tips that can be applied immediately.

Pre-workshop assignment: Before the day of the class, please familiarize 
yourself with your library's current weeding plan. If there is a written 
weeding policy or public information about weeding posted at your library, 
please being samples of those documents with you to class for sharing. If 
no such documentation exists at your library, please list five truths about 
how weeding is handled at your library so that you can share this 
information during class discussion.

Preliminary Course Outline

The Need to Weed
--Material and intellectual changes addressed by weeding
--Space constraints and moving projects
--Planning for change by examining use trends
--Maintaining a healthy and useful collection

Budgeting Time and Costs
--Budgeting staff time for weeding tasks
--Budgeting materials funds for ongoing replacements
--Budgeting special weeding projects
--Using data to inform weeding budgets

Weeding as a Sacred Cow
--Communicating about weeding with library staff
--Educating the public about the need to weed
--Proactive publicity

Making Weeding Part of Your Library's Life
--Normalizing consistent and ongoing weeding
--Publishing your weeding policy and practices
--Training weeding staff

Workshop Instructor: Francisca Goldsmith.  Francisca is the Collection 
Management and Promotion Librarian at Berkeley Public Library. She has 
planned and implemented weeding projects related to ongoing maintenance as 
well as to library relocation, space issues, and collection neglect, in 
both public and school libraries. She has worked with school administrators 
and with public library staffs who have needed appropriate training to 
support local weeding projects.

Who Should Attend: Anyone from the California library community who must 
respond to weeding needs, including those who work on collection planning, 
materials selection, shelving, and publicity related to weeding.

Prerequisites: None

Other Logistics:

*On-site check-in is from 8:30-9:00 AM;  instruction is from 9:00 AM-4:30 PM.

*Maps, directions, and parking information are available on the Infopeople 
website at http://infopeople.org/workshop/location  Infopeople does not 
validate or pay for parking.

*Infopeople does not provide refreshments or lunch.  Since some training 
locations do not have in-house or convenient food service, Infopeople 
recommends that participants bring a sack lunch.

To view a complete list of Infopeople workshops and for general information 
about Infopeople training opportunities, go to the main Infopeople 
Workshops page at http://www.infopeople.org/workshop

If you have questions about registration or scheduling of workshops, please 
contact Linda Rodenspiel, the Infopeople Project Assistant, at 
assist at infopeople.org or by phone at 650-578-9685.