How to Feed and Weed Your Collection | Weeding Guidelines

Things We've Dug Up While Weeding | Reader Comments

Why Weed Drug and Alcohol Education?

There is no question that information on drug and alcohol education is critically needed in all our schools. But even more critical is the need for current and relevant information. Students tend to look to their peers instead of adults for "real world" information on drugs and alcohol. Don't reinforce that tendency by keeping outdated and/or inaccurate information in your collection!

Suggested Dewey Numbers to Check:

Most materials will be found in 360s on drug dependencies and trafficking and in the 613.8s on appeals to avoid addictions. You may also have materials in the 306s on the subculture of substance abuse and the 616s on the psychological aspects. In addition to your regular shelving area and reference section, it is very important to examine and weed your AV and professional collections.

Specific Criteria for Weeding:

You need to look at content, accuracy, and presentation. Substances that are used and abused change over the years--what was hot and available 10 or 20 years ago may not be on the streets now. And those drugs that pose the most dangers to students today may be new to the streets and missing from old titles. Accuracy is also critical. The drug and alcohol scene changes with time. Marijuana is cheaper and more readily available than ever before. The sources and the potency of heroin have changed dramatically, so old information is now deadly information. Even moderate alcohol use is now believed to carry dangers that were not known several years ago. The presentation of information can make all the difference in the way the information is received. If it looks dated, it will not be accepted by students. This is a topic where your AV collection may be more important than the print. Most students remember receiving drug and alcohol information in school via a movie instead of verbally or the printed word. This may be the ONLY way to reach some students, so don't waste this chance by keeping old and dated AV titles that can only support the appeal of the "street" culture.

Consider Weeding Titles Like These:

• Alcohol : crisis for the unborn [videorecording], 1977.
• Alcohol and social responsibility : a new educational approach, 1949. LCCN 50005280
• Alcohol education for classroom and community, a source book for educators, [1964]. LCCN 63020190
• The alcohol problem, 1948.
• Back on the streets: a documentary on teen drug and alcohol abuse [videorecording], 1986. LCCN 87705721
• Basic information on alcohol, 1964. LCCN 01068465
• The college drug scene, 1968. LCCN 68027489
• Drinking among teen-agers : a sociological interpretation of alcohol use by high school students, 1964. LCCN 64063392
• Drug abuse : escape to nowhere; a guide for educators, 1967. LCCN 67016183
• Drug abuse : glue-sniffing and pills, marijuana and LSD [filmstrip], 1968.
• Drug abuse : pot and thrill pills, 1967.
• Drug addiction : physiological, psychological, and sociological aspects, 1958. LCCN 58008012
• Drug addiction in youth, [1965]. LCCN 64013628
• Drugs in our society (Narcotics) : critical areas of health [filmstrip], 1965.
• Drugs in today's world [filmstrip], 1971.
• Marijuana : facts, myths and decisions [videorecording], 1981.
• Narcotics and the law : a critique of the American experiment in narcotic drug control, 1967. LCCN 67025528
• Stand up for yourself : peer pressure and drugs [videorecording], 1986.
• Teaching about alcohol, [1964]. LCCN 63021005
• Teen-age drinking [1968]. LCCN 68013590
• Teen-agers and alcohol : a handbook for the educator, 1956. LCCN 56008207
• Young people and drinking; the use and abuse of beverage alcohol [1963]. LCCN 62020792