Weeding materials that have outlived their usefulness is a continuous process. Reasons for weeding a collection include the need for:

1. Maintaining a reliable reputation for current and quality materials
2. Utilization of space in the best and most economical way
3. Removal of little used or outdated material
4. Removal of books that need repair, rebinding or replacing

Books in the following condition will be discarded:

1. Outdated information
2. Unattractive appearance
3. Poor physical condition - ragged, torn, dirty, etc.
4. Seldom circulated
5. Poorly written with staid characters and plots
6. Duplicates
7. Of passing interest at time of publication

One classification will be weeded at a time and put in three stacks: 1) rebound, 2) replace and 3) discard. All catalog and shelf cards and electronic records of discarded books should be removed. Old sets of encyclopedias should be given to classrooms, and all other discards should be disposed of in a discrete manner.