Seymour Library has a treasure trove of old magazines, videos, books, bound magazines and books on tape, but limited space to keep them. That's why, from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, March 17 and 18, the library will be having a sale. We'll be selling a variety of items, including books for 50 cents, videos and books on tape for $2, magazines for $1 a bag and bound magazines for $1 each.
The funds we raise will be used to purchase new books, DVDs and books on CD.
The process of removing books and other materials is called “weeding” in the library world, and it's a topic that often inspires comments.
The decision to remove an item from the collection is made carefully and based on professional library standards. Here's an explanation of how we make our determination, by format:
Videos: A few months ago, I heard from a parent whose young son died tragically two years ago. The parent wanted to donate his collection of movies, in VHS format, to the library. Our patrons, however, are far more interested in DVDs. Instead, the parent agreed that the library could sell the videos and use the funds to purchase new DVDs for the library. Along with this project, we began replacing other children's movies in VHS format with DVDs. There are many benefits to having DVDs, including their higher quality and the bonus features, such as interviews with actors and extra footage, that are available.
Books on tape: Many of our books on cassette tapes have not been checked out by library patrons in several years, so we are selling them. We began buying books on CD several years ago, and we also have downloadable audiobooks available for patrons to check out.
Books: It's a fact of life that libraries need to weed old books in order to make room for new ones. We sometimes weed duplicates of titles that are not in high demand. We also weed books that are in poor condition or those that are damaged. In the past year, we've also weeded books that are inaccurate, providing wrong information about important topics such as law and medicine. Library staff members also consider how often a book has been checked out when deciding whether to weed a book.
We use the criteria of books published before 2000 that have not been checked out more than three times in the last eight years. We do make exceptions, however. We keep most classic titles. If a classic is in poor condition, we replace it or repair it.
Magazines: In the past, most of the older magazines at the library would be recycled and some were given away. Instead, we are selling them for a buck a bag.
We'll even supply the bags! We'll be selling a variety of titles, all published in 2006 or before.
Bound magazines: We've got back issues of magazines that were sent to the bindery, and they've been sitting on shelves in storage areas for years.
They're not of value to anyone in storage, and they don't have wide enough appeal to warrant using our limited shelf space for them. That's why we're selling each volume for $1 each
So if you are looking for treasures at an affordable price, stop by the library on March 17 or 18.
Sheila Anderson is the director of Seymour Library. The library is located at 176-178 Genesee St. in Auburn
The process of removing books and other materials is called “weeding” in the library world, and it's a topic that often inspires comments.
The decision to remove an item from the collection is made carefully and based on professional library standards. Here's an explanation of how we make our determination, by format:
Videos: A few months ago, I heard from a parent whose young son died tragically two years ago. The parent wanted to donate his collection of movies, in VHS format, to the library. Our patrons, however, are far more interested in DVDs. Instead, the parent agreed that the library could sell the videos and use the funds to purchase new DVDs for the library. Along with this project, we began replacing other children's movies in VHS format with DVDs. There are many benefits to having DVDs, including their higher quality and the bonus features, such as interviews with actors and extra footage, that are available.
Books on tape: Many of our books on cassette tapes have not been checked out by library patrons in several years, so we are selling them. We began buying books on CD several years ago, and we also have downloadable audiobooks available for patrons to check out.
Books: It's a fact of life that libraries need to weed old books in order to make room for new ones. We sometimes weed duplicates of titles that are not in high demand. We also weed books that are in poor condition or those that are damaged. In the past year, we've also weeded books that are inaccurate, providing wrong information about important topics such as law and medicine. Library staff members also consider how often a book has been checked out when deciding whether to weed a book.
We use the criteria of books published before 2000 that have not been checked out more than three times in the last eight years. We do make exceptions, however. We keep most classic titles. If a classic is in poor condition, we replace it or repair it.
Magazines: In the past, most of the older magazines at the library would be recycled and some were given away. Instead, we are selling them for a buck a bag.
We'll even supply the bags! We'll be selling a variety of titles, all published in 2006 or before.
Bound magazines: We've got back issues of magazines that were sent to the bindery, and they've been sitting on shelves in storage areas for years.
They're not of value to anyone in storage, and they don't have wide enough appeal to warrant using our limited shelf space for them. That's why we're selling each volume for $1 each
So if you are looking for treasures at an affordable price, stop by the library on March 17 or 18.
Sheila Anderson is the director of Seymour Library. The library is located at 176-178 Genesee St. in Auburn
