How to Feed and Weed Your Collection | Weeding Guidelines

Things We've Dug Up While Weeding | Reader Comments

Ever wonder what other school library media specialists find when they are weeding their collections? Here are some funny and scary titles discovered by media specialists around the world and submitted to the LM_NET listserv. Do you have some to add to this collection? Email us with your worst weed discovery and we'll add it to this list. Now, . . .

I returned to the school I graduated from to be the high school librarian in January 2003. When I began weeding the collection I found many titles that I had checked out 25 odd years ago!!! The best title I found was: Once upon a dream: a personal chat with teenagers by Patti Page (c1960). Weeding this collection has been like falling into a time warp with titles about disco roller skating and The Shaun Cassidy Story. ~ Susan Grossman

I was just weeding the 920 section in this high school library and came across a couple of selections that I felt you might appreciate. Let me preface this by saying that I graduated from this school back in 1988, so it was a lovely trip down memory lane to see that several of the books had last been signed out by my former classmates between 1984-1988! Anyway, I did find a copy of Great American Negroes by Ben Richardson (copyright 1945) that I
put aside immediately to share with you.

However, one of my personal favorites was Faith Made Them Champions edited by Norman Vincent Peale (copyright 1954). This book begins the Forward by expressing that this book will inspire both young and old "...in this age of increasing juvenile delinquency." It also includes a section How to Use This Book that explains, "The MOST strategic place for this book is in the
home. Use it with your daily devotions, selecting one
story that may particularly fill your need. Many parents will
want to read one story to their youngsters in the evening." ~ Alisa Finck

I was doing my practicum, for library certification, at an elementary school library in Missouri (2006). While I was there I weeded the entire nonfiction section. While I did that I found a couple great examples of why we should weed often.

The first was a joke book that right there on the front cover was a picture of a man holding a gun to his head with a target on the other side. Thank God no one had checked it out in close to 11 years!

The other blaring example was a series of books which were titled What to do when your Mom tells you to...(stop playing video games, answer the phone, write your Grandmother, and other such topics). When you read the books in this series, it shows you how the male character does things the right way and the female character does things the wrong way every time. ~ Becca Woodstock

Here's a book from the biography section. It looks like it was
never opened, let alone signed out. We think the author's name
says it all--from 1978, Sealth, the story of an American Indian by
Mel Boring! ~ Alisa Finck, Christine Rinaldi

I found some doozies in the Biography section of our elementary school library, which hadn't been weeded in quite some time. Besides some just funny titles, like Gerald Ford, President of Destiny, my favorite were a series of entertainment and sports stars of the 1970s, and of that, I think the best (especially in title) was Valerie Harper: The Unforgettable Snowflake, c.1975.

I really like your site and all the stories. They help with the tedium of weeding! ~ Kate Fleming

I enjoy your website and refer to it often. While looking through the book, Cup and saucer chemistry, I was concerned when I noticed how many of the experiments showed the children working with open flames. Then I read one experiment that began by stating you should use a half-smoked cigarette to light the paper. Needless to say, that went to the dumpster - No, I didn't burn it! ~ Kathy Fischer

I have tried to hold onto a few really strange things just for fun--a whole book about industry in Ohio, c. 1957 (remember, this is a New York City school) and a lovely little book about computers c. 1973. Data Entry cards! 'Member them babies?!....And I found a delightful 16 mm film in the back of the closet, an animated version of Margot Zemach's The Judge. I pulled out the old 16 mm film projector, set 'er up and spent the day figuring out how to thread the durn thing. One child who came in did a double take and said, "Wow! Is that a new computer?!" ~Constance Vidor

I once weeded a book called "Dr. Zizmor's Guide to Clearer Skin". ~Jacquie Henry

When I took my job four years ago the former librarian had been in this building for 26 years. My aides told me in that time they had removed no more than 100 books from the library. I found such treasures as:

"What to do when the Cubans invade" along with its companion "What to do when the Soviets invade," both from late 1960s. "The Real book about space travel" (1952) in which the first paragraph says “This book doesn’t say when men will reach space, because no one can be sure.” “Partners : the United Nations and youth” (1950) by Eleanor Roosevelt “How to talk to black people : a guide for white people and some black people too” “Hawaii : our off-shore territory” (1943) This was the second to last book on the shelf and a perfect way to end a long-term weeding project!

I almost forgot two of my favorite careers books "Who puts the groove in the record" a book about disc jockeys and "Who puts the blue in the jeans" all about the clothing industry!! ~Jennifer Smith

While subbing for a high school librarian on medical leave, I helped the staff weed. I found a biography of General Pershing from the late 1940s. It hadn't been checked out in 20 years. I opened it because it seemed to have something between the pages. The book contained a squashed, moldy and petrified orange half! Ugghh! Not the best way to get rid of cafeteria food. ~Julie Dahlhauser

Yesterday I came across a children's book... "I'm glad I'm a Girl! I'm Glad I'm a Boy!" I originally thought it was a birds-and-the-bees type book, but no! It is basically a series of related boy/girl roles (one sentence per page, left page boys, right page girls). When I started through, it didn't seem so bad. Things like: "Boys are Cub Scouts. Girls are Brownies." But then, I read a little farther and came across these pages: "Boys are pilots. Girls are stewardesses." "Boys are doctors. Girls are nurses." "Boys can eat. Girls can cook." “Boys build houses. Girls clean houses."

YIKES!! Needless to say, that one is off the shelves! ~Karisa Hayward

Yikes! I was asked by a young patron for books on Star Wars (episode II, which came out last weekend), and turned up a book on Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (nicknamed "Star Wars"). When I went to the shelf to pull that, I came up with something even scarier: a book called "Space -- Battleground of the Future?" It starts with a scenario involving Soviet spy sattelites, ending with the U.S. under attack by hundreds of Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles, and suggests that such a scenario is possible "sometime in the next five to ten years."

Maybe not the oldest dud ever found, but certainly in dire need of removal! ~Andrea Johnson

Previous librarians at this K-5 school were apparently allergic to weeding. In the past few years I've found some gems, including:

Cowboys and Computers: Life on a Modern Ranch, copyright 1982. The picture on the front, with a cowboy roping a huge mainframe computer, is enough to let you know the book is hopelessly outdated.

In Let's Visit South Africa, copyright 1968, we are assured that South Africa "is famous for many things besides racial problems."

Young Teens Away From Home, copyright 1966, which, among other things, has some delightful suggestions on the types of clothing to pack. (Tailored dresses are a must for girls, sport jackets and ties for the boys, and don't forget those hats and gloves!) Gosh, I wonder why no one had checked it out since 1972? ~Cheryl Kissel

Just came across a title that has been overlooked for MANY years. It is New Viewpoints in American History by Schlesinger --- copyright --- 1922! (ninth printing 1952). It goes all the way up to World War I. Needless to say, it is no longer on the shelf.
Linda BecraftMy favorite is The Pantyhose Craft Book Copyright 1978). I can't believe that panythose came in all those colors. I also laughed when I saw that the art teachers had really used it. (They taught crafts in the early 1980s.) ~Michele L. Kuhar

Two gems--Computers: Their history and how they work by Richard B. Rusch c1969, and An Easy Introduction to the Slide Rule by Isaac Asimov- c1965. ~Ellen Hanson

While weeding this year I found, from 1963 [c1958], Physical Education For Children: A Developmental Program. Here's a sample of what's inside: (under Motor Skills: Developmental Facts) "During the intermediate years motor skills are still a factor in leadership, more definitely now with boys than with girls."... "Sex differences in general are more pronounced. Girls exhibit better form in tumbling, swimming and dance; boys, in ball
and in all skills involving strength. Boys continue to enjoy combative skills and contests of ; girls have much less aptitude for or interest in them."

Needless to say, I pulled this one.... ~Jody Gerlock

Here are my two recent favorites: Practical Astrology: How to make it work for you 1967 (it circulated about once a month from 1970 to 1974) How Do You Spank a Porcupine? 1969 (no, I didn't make this one up) CB Radios: a practical guide, 1978, PG&E of California, 1952 (the preface talks about daring, courage, and vision-we don't use those adjectives in California when discussing PG&E anymore). ~Tony Doyle

In an elementary library that was not in Dewey order, hadn't had a card added to either shelf list or card catalog since 1986 and with a former principal who allowed no discards (did I mention no LMS?), I found a 1949 biography of Jackie Robinson with a chapter heading of "Colored Boy makes the Team." It WAS promptly discarded! The good news is that it hadn't been signed out in 25 years. And, there is now a full-time LMS and an automation project. ~Sara Kelly Johns

Here's a "beaut" I unearthed from the shelves at one of the high schools in my county: "An American Dilemma; the Negro Problem and Modern Democracy" by Gunnar Myrdal. 1944. ~Kathy Graves

A few years ago I found a book entitled: Basketball for Women (copyright sometime in the 1950s. It included sage advice such as: If a young woman is having her menstrual period, send her home and have her take an antihistamine. I gave the current basketball coach this book for Christmas! ~Becky Mosbacher

One of the gems I pulled off the biography shelves in one of our elementary libraries was _Ethel Barrymore; Girl Actress_ (not surprisingly, it had never been checked out!). ~Linda Klemp

Unfortunately I do not have the book in front of me (it was discarded!) but I weeded Transportation for the Twentieth Century, copyright 1950-something, this year. It had pictures of cars, and trains, and statements like "Nearly all passenger traffic over a few miles is carried on the nation's fast, comfortable passenger railroads. Imagine! You can now cross the entire country in less than four days in comfort, watching the scenery roll by!" and "High government officials, and of course the military, often travel by airplane when there is an urgent need." The airplanes shown were a DC-6B and a Lockheed Constellation. Happy families cooing over the view out the club car were shown, along with children climbing into sleeper berths. There was only one interior picture of an passenger airplane, and that was of a DC-3. I know, because in my (ahem) youth, I flew on them. <G> ~Mark Williams

When I first began as a Media Specialist about six years ago I found lots of interesting books! One of my favorites was: Junior: A Colored Boy Of Charleston. By Eleanor Frances Lattimore, Copyright 1938. Junior lives is Charleston and would like to be a shoeshine boy when he
grows up!! ~Laurie Arnez

This school was built in the 1960s. The neighborhood changed, but the collection did not. I took over a year ago, and have discarded thousands of books that had transsubstantiated into mulch for critters. Considering that the student population is 98% African-American, I had no second thoughts about tossing all three copies of a biography of "Mary, Queen of Scots." Another bit of ancient history was a 1970 biographical collection "Women of Distinction" praising Joan Baez and Jane Fonda for their anti-Vietnam War efforts.The good news is, after emptying the shelves and scrubbing, I was awarded several grants this year. I enclosed color of my empty shelves under "Statement of Need" in the proposals--this worked! Clean shelves, new books! ~Carol Faas

We recently found _The New Science of Oceanology_ c1965 on our shelves. This for a school located where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean! ~Elizabeth Bain

Five years ago our school board designated a little over $100,000.00 in addition to our regular budget to update our book collection. This allowed us to weed and discard well over 2,000 horrible books. Although we never thought we'd live through the year (try weeding that many books and spending that much money in 9 months), in hindsight we are grateful for the opportunity. Our collection went from average age of over 25 years to average age of 10-15 years. Most of the discards are long gone now, but here are 3 we had to keep in our back room as reminders.

Diebold, John. Man and the computer: technology as an agent of social change. Frederick A. Praeger, 1969.
Betty White's teenage dance book. David McKay, 1952, 1958, 1963.
This is Cape Kennedy. Macmillan, 1963. ~Becky Mosbacher

Evidently, the poetry section in my library had not been weeded in some time (I am new here):

I discovered a c.1942 copy of Edna St. Vincent Millay's The Murder of Lidice with an actual article clipped from the New York Times from 1947 taped into a page. The article headline reads: "Czechs Hang 6 Of Gestapo for Lidice Crime." Pretty scary stuff! ~Sara Katz

Two goodies from my weeding experience:

Popular Mechanics Picture History of American Transportation, c 1952. Nice section on transportation of the future. We are all supposed to be driving "flying autos"

And/or, antonyms for our age c1967. This one is a collection of photographs highlighting the difference between the comfort of homefront vs. horrors of Vietnam. I am keeping this one and recataloging it as a statement on the 60s because it is a perfect illustration of the dichotomy of the time period. ~ Sandra Parks

In one of the Media Centers I have worked in, I found a book entitled, "Songs Every Child Should Know." As I leafed through it, I realized that I didn't recognize any of the songs. Deciding to check the copyright, I turned to the front and opened the book to the title page. There was a piece of tissue paper bound into the pages -- an old method of publishing. The publication date was 1907 and the copyright was 1906. ~Sue Buchanan

…This year I ended up in a middle school that apparently used to do a lot of AV production, so I threw out lots of ancient equipment. One of the science teachers took some of it to take apart for lenses and such. We had a good laugh (and cry) when the 6th grade student he had taking things apart came to him wanting to know what one of the items was. It was a portable record player. Sigh. ~Sharon Henegar

Before I left we did some extensive weeding and we found a book in the cooking section called 'Whiskey in the kitchen". We got a big hoot out of it and shared it with the faculty. ~Sharon Francisco

…the most eye-popping book I've ever come across happened several years ago while weeding "the old fashioned way" at the end of the school year. I was flipping through a book called (if memory serves me correctly) THE OXFORD BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES. I just happened to catch a page that had a bunch of stick figures. The figures started with 10 and then down to one figure in an inverted pyramid shape. I flipped back until I found the page... What was it? "Ten Little Ni**ers!" I couldn't believe it! I had already been in the library several years and it may have never been checked out during that time...but was pretty sure it had been on the shelves for who knows how many years before that. I especially couldn't believe it was in such an "innocent" book as a nursery rhyme book. I don't remember the copyright or publisher. But it was a dark rhyme with a variety of things happening to the characters as it went from 10 to 1!

Go figure... I promply pulled it and put it where it would be most useful...the garbage can! ~Tony Pope

I am currently in the 790's and have several books that I believe I will not put back on the shelf :) One is called The Young Sportsman's guide to Bowling-- and I quote "Remember that when you bowl, you're not going to a prom or a picnic. It is much easier for a boy to dress for bowling than it is for a girl. A boy takes off his coat, loosens his tie , rolls up his sleeves and he's ready. Girls shouldn't go bowling loaded down with ballerina-type petticoats or hoops skirts that will affect their arm swing....Their best bowling outfit is a loosely flared dress or skirt, knee high, and a loose fitting blouse....Short shorts are not considered proper attire and many alley managers forbid them." (Dick Weber, 1963) Or consider this one "left there (home) should be shorts skirts. All too often they cause the player to restrict her movements in an effort to preserve her modesty. (Dolan, Complete Beginner's Guide to Bowling, 1974)

And here is a gem from "Paradise below Zero" (Rutstrum, 1968) "A woman, especially, is prone to the use of ski clothes and other fancy dress for winter trail activity. As we might say, she may gain a romantic point with John Doe, but she is sure to lose out with Jack Frost. In fact, all of the trussing and girdling devices along with the cosmetics, that women wear should be left at home or stored at the embarkation point until the conventional deception game starts again back at the road- or railhead." ---Now if I could just remember where I left my trussing and girdling devices—and how you play that game.... ~Darlene Yasick

As a student intern I did some weeding in a middle school library. I weeded a whole collection of "The Boys' Book of Railroad and Trains," "The Boys' Book of Radios" etc. etc. These were published in the 1950's. ~Amy Coquillard

Most of the discards are long gone now, but here are 3 we had to keep in our back room as reminders. Man and the computer: technology as an agent of social change, 1969. Betty White's teenage dance book, 1952, 1958, 1963. This is Cape Kennedy, 1963. ~Jean Power

From my previous two schools--my favorites! (uggggh...) Automobile Safety --copyright 1940 "Someday we may have a man on the moon, but the Russians might beat us to it." "Someday we may have world wide television." ~Linda Kramer

Isn't it amazing what we can find. I have been weeding gradually since I became the LMS here 6 years ago but did serious weeding last summer before automating. Among the books was one on how to build a bomb shelter from the 50's. I'm still finding books that need to be thrown away! ~Carol Sherer

When we were weeding our collection a couple of years ago preparing for a retrospective conversion, we were inspecting one book and in the center of the pages was one big hole with a bookworm nestled at the bottom. ~Marilyn Galsterer

A favorite title of ours (that, thank goodness, was weeded *years* ago) was High Heels in the Andes. As you can imagine the illustrations were hysterical! ~Diana Caswell

We have been weeding over the last year in preparation for automation. We recently discarded several fiction books (in braille) that were written in the 1940's (or earlier) and hadn't been checked out for 30 years or more. Last year we discarded our 1959 braille World Book Encyclopedia (which was 145 volumes and took up over 20 shelves.)

We also found a book called Blind Bob, copyright 1897, that talks about New York Point being the reading and writing system for the blind, superior to braille. (FYI, New York Point was a dot writing system developed in 1868 and used until 1917, when braille, grade 1 1/2 was adopted.) Another book, Elizabeth and Her Work for the Blind, copyrighted 1887, has an inscription in the front saying "Miss Hatch from The Lady ? Walker 1892." And a third book about William Campbell dated 1917. I am keeping all of them (in the historical collection), particularly since Gilbert and Campbell were early pioneers in the field, but the writing style is quite different from today's biographies. I can only guess, but I assume they were originally purchased for staff.

We also have a large collection of records, including a 78 rpm record of train sounds. I think my all time favorite discard was a book that had a photo of the "modern weather service bureau"--and the photo had one of those telephones where you have to hold the earpiece to your ear and the other section to your mouth. ~Elizabeth Hart

I found a copy of Space Monkey at my new assigned school this year. It's funny and pathetic all at the same time. Photos show 'Space Monkey' being strapped to his cockpit(?) with a gothic-looking helmet attached to his little, tiny head and with what appears to be electrodes, or wires of some kind, coming off his scalp. The caption reads something like "Space monkey is brave moments before lift-off, but he knows he is doing a good service for his country" (paraphrased). Throughout the book the author purports to be aware of poor 'space monkey's' thinking. 'Space Monkey' looks terrified, but not particularly patriotic! ~Margaret Schimmels

We discarded our school's first VCR today: a Betamax. It was part of our closed circuit system for six years, then served five years in a driver's education classroom, before being put out to pasture as a doorstop for thestorage closet. My assistant says it's time to retire; we also discarded the vision testing apparatus that was put in storage her first year at this school, 1972. By the way, the Betamax still worked; we also discarded the 1971 driver's ed video that we tested it with today. ~Ginger Williams

My favorite weed, from many years ago, was a book called The Story of Medicine whose most prominent cover illustration was a voodoo mask! Yikes! ~Gretchen Baldauf

Over the last several years of not just doing an inventory but getting on the floor in front of the book shelves and taking a good look at my collection, I have found a 1956 edition of The Story Of My Life by Helen Keller, a 1952 edition of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl , a 1938 edition of Epaminondas And His Auntie by Sara Cone Bryant, and unbelievably a very, very, very tattered but original copyright of Uncle Tom's Cabin! None of them had been read for ages. I pulled them but will not dispose of them. I placed them in my Archival collection. ~Denise Cox

A few weeks ago I came across "Mothers, Mothers, Mothers" and "Fathers, Fathers, Fathers" in the elementary. Mothers are "soft and cuddly", "throw parties" and "like to drink lots of coffee and talk on the telephone". Fathers "mow the lawn, shovel the snow", provide for wife and family, and "sometimes like to be left alone". The teachers had a lot of fun looking at them, and one used them for a discussion with sixth graders. I've been enjoying this thread! ~Laura Mench

It really must be the time of the year. I just weeded my old AV collection. I found a copy of the book Monkey goes to the moon (well, more or less that's the title), and a 45 rpm record to go with it. Tossed lots of oldies but not goodies. As the custodian was wheeling it away, a 2nd grade teacher wanted to pick through it (never mind he hasn't checked out any of these items in 5 years). Luckily the custodian told him that school policy is that once it is put in the trash it has to be disposed of--can't go to anyone. Staff has the next 2 weeks to pick through old filmstrips for anything they want kept. Bet it'll only be about 2 dozen (if that). Much of the stuff I weeded has not been out in the 7 years since we moved into the building. Obviously it is past time to clean it out. Sorry, no bomb shelter instructions, but there was a set on Indians that was full of stereotypes. Somedays it really feels good to throw stuff out. ~Anne C. Oelke

In the past 10 years I have discarded literally thousands of books in 4 libraries. Some "highlights" include:

a 1945 first aide book
Communisim, The Red Menace
a Pat Boone guide to dating

I often give the funnier discards to appropriate people. I will wrap and give a 1960's book on being a good homemaker to a teacher as a "wedding present" in a few weeks. The staff newsletter will quote one of my discards on the wonders of asbestos as a building material. Doing things like this has made it so my staff, does not freak out when, "Oh my gosh, the librarian is THROWING OUT BOOKS!!!" This time when I posted that they were welcome to pick through the discards, only one teacher opted to even look. She only took a couple books out of literally hundreds. ~Deb Logan

This one is too good not to pass on. I weeded the professional collection and found a 1960 "How to Make Athletic Equipment." Among my favorites are the "wooden three-meter diving platform" and the various scoreboards. You can also make your own warm-up suits and uniforms. There may be some practical ideas here, but I think our school will opt to buy what they need. ~Carolyn Kitterer

Our collection books about countries was sad. Children of Viet Nam, c1962, Children of Holland, c1942. But my favorite is a biography of O.J. Simpson I found 2 or 3 years ago, A Rookie Reader, I think, wherein he is described as "now you see him, now you don't," and who was known to run down the field, "leaving a trail of bodies in his wake." ~Linda Kissling

Ten years ago...while plowing through the young adult fiction section, I found a book called "Jinny Williams, Library Assistant," published in 1962....it's part of a series "A career romance for young moderns!!!"...The sad part of the story is that I didn't have to power to weed it...it's probably still there. ~Melissa Kiser

What a great site! Here are a couple of titles, among many, that I weeded last year in preparation for automation: Things a boy can do with electricity. Scribner, 1938. Hadn't been checked out in over 20 years. Also, Picture your dog in needlework. Arco, 1980. Had never been checked out. ~Mary Webster

When I weeded a section of a high school library recently, I discarded a book called "The Cow Owner's Handbook". This was in an inner city school, two blocks from the beach - I guess the area did have dairies before the community was built. ~Barbara Wymer - Chula Vista, CA

In 1975 I weeded a number of fascinating books--including a 1906 bound pamphlet on the miracle drug acetylsalicylic acid which had not circulated since1919. It's still a miracle drug--aspirin. ~Ann Moore

When I first came to my library nearly 6 1/2 years ago, I weeded 3000 titles, or about a third of the collection. When a few teachers commented, I realized I should have kept a couple of those titles to show them why I weeded. One (I don't remember the title or author, but it was in the "A's" in fiction) had some kind of "critter" crawling out when I opened it! The second was a title something like Our Modern Air Force, maybe by Colby, with a 1950's copyright! ~Barb Strack

I spent last year (my first in this district) weeding a collection that had been neglected for several years, in preparation for a move to a new building. The most unusual item that I "weeded" was a box of about a dozen bricks which had been painted black. There was nothing with the bricks to indicate what they might be used for, if they had some historical significance, etc. My assistants, who had worked with the former media specialist for several years, had never seen the bricks used for anything. Out they went! ~Sandy Norfolk

I think my worst was scanning a book about the moon. They hoped that when man landed on the moon, they would be able to learn more about it's surface! ~Vicky Steffen

I've been at this small public library for four months and am still discovering amazing books on the shelves. The latest is And There Was America, copyright 1938, in which some Algonquins say, and this is a direct quote, "Ugh! Ugh!" Ugh indeed! ~Cindy Rasely

While weeding a collection for the first time a few weeks ago, I came across a fiction book titled First on the Moon. The subject heading in the tracings at the bottom of the shelf-list card was Science Fiction. ~Lois Tabis

One of my favorites when I first came here in the mid-'80s was a book called "You and your Camera" and it was a Brownie Box Camera, the kind my mom used in the 40's! ~Joanne Proctor

My favorite book I found was Personality Plus. A chapter titles "What About Necking" reported: "A noted anthropologist attributes the failure of many marriages to the extended necking which the couples engaged in during the courtship." ~Doug Johnson

I too have made a major push with weeding this year since we were automating the library in my middle school. While going through my books on countries (which I knew needed some serious work) I paged through a book on Italy. The copyright was 1962, but the pictures of girls in schools showed them with those flat, short bobbed hairdos I saw on my mother's pictures from the 30's, with the floppy bow off to one side. The girls were shown learning to SEW at their desks. I was embarassed to think any child had brought this home when researching this country. AV had some old stuff, but the worst was a REEL TO REEL tape. ~Kathy Hooper

This is my first year at my school and it was real obvious that the collection hadn't been weeded in a long time--I didn't realize HOW long until I was weeding this week and found a book from 1953 entitled "First book on Space Travel"-it was a real hoot! Then I found one on atomic energy dated 1949!!
Julie Stephens

How about brand new encyclopedias that have articles that haven't been rewritten for over 30 years. In 1979 I checked the city of Vancouver, BC in a NBOK. It mentioned the "new" library going to be built. It was built in 1956 and has since been replaced by an even "newer" library (looks like a high-rise coliseum!). There were pictures of Georgia street with cute little houses -- that disappeared about the same time the "new" library was built. Georgia St. has been solid skyscrapers since before I was in high school (don't ask when!). The article mentioned the "new" city hall. The only people in VR I ever heard refer to the city hall as "new" were my grandfather's age! To give them credit, the 1980 edition had beautiful full-color photographs and an updated article. I warn kids about this (not in this detail) every year from 3rd grade on -- hoping they will view encyclopedias with suspicion -- and convince their teacher to get rid of the 1974 edition encyclopedia "donated" by the library years ago.

How about "Fishing for Boys"? My 6th grade girls thought that was a terrific title!

Here's another "Gem". In the careers section, a book on how to become a stewardess (no, not a "cabin attendant", but a "girls-only" stewardess). Old black and white photos, and old aircraft. I took it home to show to my ex-stew wife. She loved it. There was a Pan-Am stew in full uniform, identical to the one she wore (she quit the day the 747s came on line -- just a coincidence, folks!) She loved the job but decided to go to graduate school. Not only is the uniform obsolete, but there is no longer a PanAm (before the first bankruptcy.), nor are many of the illustrated aircraft still flying -- although some, surprisingly, still are! ~Garrie Jantzen

I am in my third year as a librarian in a small town. Talk about pack rats! I've been discarding items from the 1940s that haven't been touched since the 50s. I began on the AV cabinets today. I found a kit from Colgate about better ways to brush your teeth. The date on the teacher's guide is 1987. The box still contains hundreds of the small red tablets that kids were to chew before brushing to show them how much they miss when they hurry. I remember doing this when I was in grade school ! I'm all for keeping materials that are being used... but this is a bit much. ~Tracy Taylor

I was weeding the vertical file several years ago and found a recipe for cheap and easy-to-make "play dough" - using asbestos! ~Barbara Roberts

My favorite weeds have been books about space ("one day man will travel to the moon") and New York City (models of what the Lincoln Center complex will look like after the tenements are torn down)! ~Laura R. Pearle

I found a hilarious little book called Linda Visits a TV Studio that was published in 1951 or 1952. The cartoon drawings were all shaded in blue and yellow, the little girl had the quintessential curled-at-the-ends-with-bangs-and-headband hairdo, a stiffly crinolined dress, bobby socks and mary janes, and the television cameras looked big enough to eat Chicago! I used it in a display of old and new technology and it was quite a hit! ~Susan Grigsby, LMS

I weeded a filmstrip showing GIRLS how to do the laundry and other housecleaning chores in an efficient manner so they could greet their husband without a care in the world when he came home for dinner. BTW, the filmstrip featured a wringer washer! My predecessor retired after 37 years and never weeded a thing. There was a 5-6 foot globe in the library with sections missing that was donated by the class of 1937. Then we had a file featuring tours of Saigon. I have kept some of these, and other gems, in my "Shelf of Shame." ~Larry A. Parsons

I too have come across some winners when weeding. My personal favorite was a16mm film about making cheese. BTW, we are a 9-12 private independent school. I can't imagine what this film was ever used for. ~Kathy Bolster

My favorite discard : "Land of 500 Million," a book about -- you guessed it -- China. ~Jane Glass

I found this book at an elementary school still on the shelves around 1990. It was a Sports Illustrated book on tennis. It contained "The Golden Rules" for playing mixed doubles. One page listed rules for men, another for women. The Golden Rules are:

For men:
1. Always ask your partner, "Would you like to serve first?" The courtesy is more important than the reply.
2. If it is your team's turn to receive, stand firmly in the left court and ask her: "Which court do you prefer to play?"
3. When your partner wrongly calls an opponent's shot out, don't correct her. Your opponents won't remember the favor, and she won't forgive you.
4. Don't try to win all your points from the lady across the net. It's more rewarding to show up the other man.
5. When the ball goes over the fence, fetch it on the trot. Women don't like men who are lazy.
6. Never serve your hardest to the opposing lady unless she is patently a better player than you are. Use a spin serve; it looks soft but it is just as effective and nasty.
7. If a crucial point is needed and the opposing lady is inept, take advantage of her glaring weakness but then protest you meant to hit it elsewhere.
8. If your side wins, the drinks are on you.
9. Always play your best; women are allergic to losing.

For women:
1. Let your partner serve first. It will make him feel that victory depends on him.
2. Play the right court when receiving (for the same reasons as above).
3. Don't apologize when you miss. You didn't mean to make the error.
4. Wear the most becoming outfit you can find in your wardrobe, but don't try to be too spectacular looking. The too-intriguing costume can be as disconcerting to your partner as your opponent. The undeviating color for tennis is white.
5. Don't make your partner fetch all the loose balls around the court. He may abhor the helpless type.
6. Compliment your partner generously but uneffusively when he makes a good shot. His ego is the key to his performance.
7. Don't chat with the other players or the bystanders.
8. Play the net uncomplainingly if your partner asks you to. He may have a reason.
9. Always play your best; men prefer to win.

~Belinda Holbrook