181
Dewey Class Subject (years) (years) Notes This Book
320s–330s Politics, 5 10 Watch for out-of-date contacts; 321.8—Democracy Economics economics area is changing quickly 322—Terrorism
—keep current 323—Civil Rights
324—Presidential Elections
325—Immigration 330—Personal
Finance 331—Careers 332—The Stock
Market
340s–350s Law, 5 10 Evaluate by use and relevance to
Government curriculum
360s Social 5 10 Criminology is a hot topic; be sure 360—Drug and
Services current practice is reflected Alcohol Education
362.4—Disabilities 363.2—Forensic
Science 370s Education 5 10 Many titles in your professional 370—Education
collection will be found here; titles should reflect current practice;
make sure you have titles on test- taking and assessment; keep college guides until replacements arrive, especially for local schools; build in areas of particular interest to your school’s philosophy and practice
380s Commerce, 5 10 Watch for stereotypes, gender bias, 380—Transportation Communica- and dated images; be sure career
tion, Careers materials include applications of computers and modern technol- ogies; communication should include wireless and mobile applications
390s Customs, 10 15 Toss dated dating books; review 392—Dating and
Etiquette etiquette materials—the rules have Courtship changed; weed by use and
condition
394s General 10 15 Holiday books are popular; save 394—Holidays
Customs until you can update but toss those
in poor condition
398s Folklore 10 20 Evaluate use and condition; replace 398—Folktales well-used materials with newer
editions
400s Languages, 5 10 Look for technology-related words 400—Languages Dictionaries (DVD, CD, MP3, podcast, weblog) (420––English)
and slang that has come into common usage; check foreign- language and English as a second language materials for condition if popular and well used; picture dictionaries are good for ESL students if illustrations are not dated; grammar doesn’t change much, but examples and illustra- tions can date materials
500s Natural 3 5 Keep classic works like Darwin and 507.8—Science
Sciences, Rachel Carson, but keep up with Experiments
Mathematics new discoveries and theories;
science fairs demand more frequent updating
510s Mathematics 8–10 15 Math doesn’t change very much; 510—Mathematics weed by use and condition; keep
historical and classic
520s Astronomy 5 10 Recent discoveries in planets and 520—Space and the solar system should be reflected Astronomy in materials
530s–550s Physics, 5 10 Weather and climate books should 551.2—Earthquakes
Chemistry, include the use of technology; and Volcanoes
Earth discard chemistry books that do 551.6—Weather
Science not have the correct number of ele-
ments; geology books should include information on continental drift and plate tectonics; guides to rocks, gems, minerals, etc., may be kept longer if in good condition
560s Paleontology 5 10 Be sure materials describe five king- 567.9—Dinosaurs doms; dinosaur books should reflect
current theories, including feathered creatures and upright tails; current nomenclature
570s Biology 3 5 Keep taxonomies; microbiology is a 576—Genetic
hot topic; update information on Engineering
viruses, bacteria 576.8—Evolution
577—Ecology 580s–590s Botany, 5 10 Not much changes here; weed by 597—Reptiles and
Zoology condition and use; keep up with Amphibians
current list of endangered species
GENERAL WEEDING CRITERIA 183
Dewey Class Subject (years) (years) Notes This Book
600s–620s Applied 3 5 Toss any older materials that may 600s—Vocational Science, be misleading; science fair materials Trades
Technology, and topics should be current; diet 613.2—Nutrition Medicine, and exercise titles may be retained 613.7—Physical Mechanics, longer; be sure materials on sexually Fitness
Engineering transmitted diseases include current 613.85—Tobacco information on AIDS; include mate- Education rials on growing fields of nanotech- 614.5—AIDS nology and microbiology; aviation 616—Diseases titles should include international 629.1—Aviation space station, space shuttle status History
630s Agriculture, 5 15 Be sure materials reflect new trends
Farm, in farming and gardening; pet mate-
Gardens, rials are always popular, but get rid Domestic of those that don’t leave the shelves;
Animals update more often if you serve agri-
cultural or farming communities;
toss anything that promotes harm- ful or banned pesticides like DDT
640s Family 3 10 Cookbooks should reflect the latest 641.5—Cooking Studies, nutrition and medical information;
Cookbooks, current cooking trends should be
Home reflected: ethnic, low-fat, low-carb;
Economics materials should reflect safe food- handling techniques; watch for sexist images and stereotyping in family studies and home economics materials; fashion goes out of fashion quickly—toss after 3 years;
babysitting and parenting materials should reflect current research and practice
650s Business 3 5 Weed interviewing and résumé
Management, writing frequently; typing is out—
Public people keyboard now; make sure
Relations uses of technology in business
reflect current practice in text and images; monitors have flat screens;
handhelds, laptops, and tablets are commonplace; watch out for stereo- typing in images
660s–690s Chemical 5 10 Keep materials on collectibles;
Engineering, make sure the use of computers is Manufactur- included; be aware of modern mate-
ing, Building rials and techniques
Construction
700s Art, Music, 5 10 Art and music: get new editions of Sports well-used titles; keep histories of art
and music if in good condition; keep sports classics, but newer editions may be available
740s Crafts 5 10 Crafts have life cycles: keep one 740—Hobbies and
copy of a good book on fading fads— Crafts macramé, decoupage, tie-dye, etc.; 741—Drawing add today’s hobbies and crafts; and Cartooning materials for crafts and hobbies
have changed dramatically; retain basic technique books
770s Photography 3 10 Digital photography is popular and 770—Photography rapidly changing—keep up; toss
items with dated equipment and techniques; keep basic darkroom titles for hobbyists
780s Music 5 10 Be sure you have something on rap, 780—Music
country, and electronic music; keep well-used histories, but replace if worn or damaged
790s Sports 5 10 Watch out for teams that have 792.8—Dance
moved: Boston-Milwaukee-Atlanta 796—Sports Braves, etc.; be mindful of expansion 796.357—Baseball teams in all sports; replace well-used 796.48—Olympic titles with newer editions; be aware Games
that rules in sports do change;
reflect growing interest in extreme sports
800s Literature 5 15 Keep basics and classics; check 808—Poetry
indexes before discarding poetry; 808.7—Wit and check for dust, must, mold, mildew Humor
—and especially use 822.3—Shakespeare
900s History 5 10 Check demand, accuracy, condition;
monitor information on areas of change: countries of the former Soviet Union, Afghanistan, Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe; be ruthless
910s Travel, 2 5 Outdated travel guides are useless; 910—Geography
Geography replace on rotating basis, every 2 or 3 years
GENERAL WEEDING CRITERIA 185
Dewey Class Subject (years) (years) Notes This Book 920s Biography 5 10 Keep biographies that support the 920—Biography
curriculum (artists, presidents, inventors, world leaders, etc.) and update those that kids enjoy (rock stars, musicians, athletes)
930s–990s History 10 15 World War II continues to be popular, 940—Europe but you should have something on 940.53—The Spanish American War, Korean War, Holocaust
Vietnam, and the Gulf conflicts; 940.53—World War II examine all materials carefully for 947—Russia
bias; accuracy of facts and fairness 959.7—Vietnam of interpretation are key; maintain 960—Africa primary source materials if in good 970.004—Native condition or replace; immigrant Americans groups should include most recent, 971–972—Canada not just European; eliminate any and Mexico stereotypes in Native American 972.91—Cuba materials (or any other group); 973—U.S. Presidents remember 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s 973.7—The Civil War are ancient history to students— 973.93—Septem- maintain some accurate representa- ber 11
tive works; maintain local history and items that get heavy use in classroom assignments
Fiction/ 5 15 Toss duplicate copies of items with FIC—Fiction
Easy/Story low circulation; watch for outdated SC—Short Stories
Collections topics, topics appropriate for reading
level; keep high demand, award win- ners, popular authors’ works; condi- tion and use will determine keeping or tossing; replace old favorites with new editions; quality picture books remain popular; YA titles should appeal to YAs
Reference 3 10 These materials should include the REF—Reference
most current information; toss or return to circulation anything over 10 years old; update well-used with newer editions; some areas age quickly and will need to be replaced every year or two, others will last for 10 years or more; anything over 20 years old needs to go