Use it. Share it. And stay compliant with Copyright Clearance Center.

1.  Weeding by Appearance 
* Worn-out volumes: dirty, brittle, yellow pages; missing pages; tattered covers; etc. 
* Badly bound volumes: soft, pulpy paper and/or shoddy binding 
* Badly printed works 
* Books of antiquated appearance which might discourage use 
* Audio-visual materials with missing or broken pieces 

* Material type--(Outdated technology)

* Technical aspects - sound, equipment needed 

2.  Weeding of Duplicate Volumes 
* Un-needed duplicate titles 
* Older editions 
* Highly specialized books (when library holds more general or up-to-date volumes on the same subject) 
* Books on subjects of little interest to the local community 
* Books which no longer relate to the curriculum (if specialized) 

3.  Weeding Based on Poor Content 
* Information is dated 
* Information is inaccurate 
* Stereotypes are present 
* Book is poorly written 

4.  Weeding According to Use 
* Nonfiction:  Book has not been checked out within last 3 years + 10 years old or older
* Fiction:  Book has not been checked out within last 5 years (classics excluded)

Additional considerations:

Curriculum - does the work support the curriculum taught at the school?

Interest level - does it fit the grade, reading and interest levels of students?

Categories of Books which may be quickly outdated:
* 000s: General:  Replace at least one set of encyclopedias every five years. Circulate older sets for no more than eight years. Try to get an encyclopedia yearbook every year. Materials on computers are seldom useful after three years.

* 100s: Psychology: (especially popular literature) More scholarly works on psychology should be replaced after five to eight years.

* 300s: Social Sciences: Replace almanacs in the reference collection after two years. Circulate older volumes no more than three to five years. Law, government and education materials are often used for school reports and debates, so they may have historical value. However, it is very important to remove outdated statute information. Be sure the collection is balanced and current, especially for controversial topics.

* 400s: Languages: Foreign language and English as a Second Language materials may wear out very quickly; there may be a need to replace books in this category frequently.

* 500s: Astronomy, Chemistry, Physics, Biology: New science discoveries, theories and techniques can make an outdated collection look very strange and will destroy credibility.  Scientific materials are continuously being updated.

* 600s: Electronics, Engineering, Health, Technology:  Medical discoveries are constantly being announced and older materials may be very misleading or even dangerous. Popular culture thrives on fads. Try to keep up to date on what's "hot" and toss what's "not." Materials on collector's items should be kept.

* 900s: Popular biographies: Keep up with new releases on enduring personalities (especially political and historical figures) and keep biographies with literary value.


Categories of Books which are not quickly outdated:
* dictionaries 
* biographical sources 
* literary criticism 
* classics of literature 
* foreign language literature 
* art books 
* local history/geography 
* books providing general principles of a subject or discipline