2. Evaluation of the Topic Section Based on Use of Data

When I first settled on this area I ran a holdings report and discovered it contained 148 titles. I then ran a circulation report and found out that only 24 titles had circulated within the last year. Only 15 of the titles had circulated within the last two years. Many of the titles had not circulated more than twice since we automated our circulation system in 1994. This section certainly moved to the top of my list of areas to address.  I began the weeding process by using the MUSTY criteria outlined by Allen (2010). I looked for books with misleading/inaccurate information, books that were ugly and worn beyond mending, and books that were trivial and had no discernible value. I then selected those that were superseded by a newer edition or were irrelevant to the needs of my patrons. I was surprised to find how many duplicate titles we had. I also followed the advice of the Media Maven and set a bottom line criteria: books older than 20 years must go! (Ford, 2011, p. 5)