Weeding for a Readers’ Advisory Collection

Readers’ advisory (RA) starts with a healthy, well-curated collection. Collection development is obviously fundamental to RA service. Selecting materials is the “wholesale” end of the “retail” marketing RA transaction. Just as weeding is a vital part of the life cycle in a popular materials collection, weeding is also necessary to provide exceptional RA service. This article will start with weeding fundamentals, then share processes for weeding nonfiction and fiction popular materials collections for youth or adults across print, audiovisual, and then e-books and e-audio formats developed through years of experience.