Deaccessioning Process

  • Students in Stapleton Library

    In fall 2016, the library began a project to evaluate the physical titles in our general collection in Stapleton Library, and to identify titles that were candidates for deaccessioning and removal from our holdings.

    These pages explain deaccessioning (also known as “weeding”) at IUP, elements and stages of the overall process, and how feedback from the Ad Hoc Deaccessioning Committee has been used to modify the approach.

    Goals

    The goal of the deaccessioning process is to evaluate the physical holdings of the library while maintaining and enhancing access to library materials. At IUP, we’re specifically looking at two main goals:

    1. Ensuring a selection, acquisition, and deselection lifecycle that is in line with current library best practices and new technologies

    2. Keeping the collection modern, relevant, and aligned with the university’s academic mission

    A New Approach

    Based on feedback from the university community, the provost established the Ad Hoc Deaccessioning Committee to re-examine and revamp the process, communicate changes, and engage the university community. The committee determined that certain changes should be made as part of a new approach to deaccessioning:

    1. Partnering with HathiTrust to ensure that we maintain access to as many titles as possible while also expanding our digital collections.
    2. Adding a new phase to solicit faculty collaboration/feedback regarding essential titles that must be retained in physical form.
    3. Developing additional refinement criteria to apply to existing data and inform decisions to keep or remove a book.
    4. Creating this site as the central point to find updated information and communicate with the library and committee.  

  • How Our Collections Are Changing

    The IUP Library collections are undergoing significant changes. Our physical holdings will be reduced in size as we move toward alternate formats and access methods. However, in turn, the library realizes significant collections and access benefits:

    1. Access to and use of many of the books being removed from physical holdings can expand, as more users are able to locate and use library resources through electronic access methods.

    2. Digital collections will greatly expand via our HathiTrust partnership. We will have integrated digital access to thousands of titles we currently own (or formerly owned) as physical books, as well as millions of additional titles.

    3. Roughly 9,000 linear feet of shelf space will become available to consolidate collections and make finding physical works even easier.

  • The Numbers

    The IUP Libraries currently holds approximately 486,000 physical volumes on its shelves. During collection analysis using GreenGlass software, approximately 168,000 books were identified as potential candidates for removal from IUP’s physical holdings due to circulation history and other factors.

    Based on refined selection criteria and library faculty review of the titles, we are able to estimate how many physical books are likely to be retained, and how many are likely to be removed. While this estimate is subject to revision, here are the latest estimates:

    • 88,900 titles (about 53 percent) will remain on our shelves due to uniqueness, library and departmental faculty recommendations, and/or other criteria that suggest a title should stay.

    • 79,100 titles will be removed from the library shelves, with alternative access provided through HathiTrust, library ebook subscriptions, and interlibrary loan from partner institutions

  • IUP Libraries
  • Stapleton Library, Room 203
    431 South Eleventh Street
    Indiana, PA 15705
  • Phone: 724-357-2330
  • Fax: 724-357-4891

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