Library's de-selection policy in question

Deep in one of Morris Library's discard bins, Professor George Boulukos found four pieces of 19th century history that belongs in a rare book collection in Illinois.

Two of the books Boulukos, a member of the Library Advisory Committee, found are the last copies available in the state and the other two belong in single rare book collections in Illinois.

This finding has caused the Library Advisory Committee to raise questions about whether employees understand what they discard in compliance with the library's withdrawal policy. Now committee members want to make sure the policy is clear.

"Everyone seemed interested in clarifying the policy, whether the interest was in making sure things were going smoothly or making sure the policy was as clear as possible," Boulukos said. Susan Logue, assistant dean of Library Affairs, was asked by the committee to draft a formal policy regarding the removal process. Logue said the draft was a reflection of a policy the library has followed for about 30 years, with a few minor changes. The policy states that items considered for de-selection must meet certain criteria, but the books are not actively sought after by library workers for removal.

Those factors include low circulation, the condition of the book and multiple copies within the library and state. Once the books are taken out of circulation, a library worker searches the ILLINET system, an Illinois library database, to determine if the book is rare or a last copy. Library specialists also check with faculty who are in their specialized subject area to determine if the book would be of value to anyone in the department. After the books are double checked, they move to the discard bin, where no other review takes place.

"The policy we have in place is good stewardship," Logue said. "There may be cases where we made a bad decision, but figuring out why that bad decision happened is where we should spend our time and energy." Though the policy has not changed significantly, committee member Mary Lamb wants the library to establish a process in which faculty or graduate students review the books before they are discarded. "It's an issue that affects the humanities much more than some of the other fields," Lamb said. "It isn't about these four books. Valuable books have probably been destroyed before now, and it's very important that those books be retained."

Lamb suggested a few ways in which a faculty review can help ensure no books of great value be destroyed. One option is a mass e-mail to all University faculty about books that will be discarded, which is used by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Karen Schmidt, University of Illinois' associate librarian for collections, said the library sends out an e-mail before discarding brittle books to ensure the books are not destroyed without input.

Several other universities across the state, including Northern Illinois University and Eastern Illinois University, discard their books without faculty consent. Another option is to create a shelf where faculty and students could look over the books before they are discarded. The issue was brought up to David Carlson, dean of Library Affairs, and Logue in a Dec. 1 committee meeting, in which Carlson said establishing a schedule for review would not be efficient.

"There should be a level of faculty review already going on if the liaisons are doing an effective role," Carlson said. Carlson said 99.5 percent of the books selected for de-selection are good choices and that establishing a system for outside review would be difficult because there is no set schedule for when books are discarded.

"The library cannot guarantee there will never be a mistake in withdrawal of material," Carlson said. "The only policy that can guarantee we never make a mistake is one that never throws out a single volume. That too is something we shouldn't do."