The area I have decided to focus on for the weeding exercie is the one I am most cautious with – the 398 section, folklore and traditional tales. I am always overly cautious when weeding this section because as an International school I am aware that we should have folktales from as many areas of the globe as possible.  As I have been reading and learning about deselection I realize that knowing why we need to do this, having very clear criteria to follow and involving the school community  all contribute to successful weeding (Beilharz, 2007). The CREW manual recommends to keep these works indefinitely (Larson, 2012, p.68) but to check each title using the MUSTIE criteria. However, understanding that while the tales do not date the illustrations, forewords and presentation may date and show bias or lack of consideration that is expected in today’s schools (Baumbach & Miller, 2006, p.72).  

Before the process begins it would be very important to take a close look at our school community in terms of country of origin. While I looking at this part of the collection I should make note of the countries and regions where the folktales are from. I would then see if we had representation of our student’s home countries and of our host nation, Turkey.  Our grade 3 students take part in a Unit of Inquiry about traditional tales and I could enlist their help in deselecting books which are not helpful to their studies or enjoyment

References

Baumbach, Donna J.; Miller, Linda L. (2006). Less Is More : A Practical guide to Weeding School Library Collections. Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com

Beilharz, R. (2007). ‘Secret library business – part 2′, Connections, Issue 63, pp. 10-12. Retrieved

from http://www2.curriculum.edu.au/scis/connections/issue_63/secret_library_business__part_2.html 

Larson, J. (2012). CREW : a weeding manual for modern libraries. Austin, TX: Texas State Library and Archives.