Weeding for a Readers’ Advisory Collection

ABSTRACT: Readers’ advisory (RA) starts with a healthy, well-curated collection. Collection development is obviously fundamental to RA service. Selecting materials is the “wholesale” end of the “retail” marketing RA transaction. Just as weeding is a vital part of the life cycle in a popular materials collection, weeding is also necessary to provide exceptional RA service. This article will start with weeding fundamentals, then share processes for weeding nonfiction and fiction popular materials collections for youth or adults across print, audiovisual, and then e-books and e-audio formats developed through years of experience.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Library trends
Published
2026-10-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2026.a1005545
Primary Topic
Library Collection Development and Digital Resources
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Weeding for a Readers’ Advisory Collection

Karen Toonen
Library trends
Library Collection Development and Digital Resources
article

Weeding for a Readers’ Advisory Collection

Karen Toonen
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Readers’ advisory (RA) starts with a healthy, well-curated collection. Collection development is obviously fundamental to RA service. Selecting materials is the “wholesale” end of the “retail” marketing RA transaction. Just as weeding is a vital part of the life cycle in a popular materials collection, weeding is also necessary to provide exceptional RA service. This article will start with weeding fundamentals, then share processes for weeding nonfiction and fiction popular materials collections for youth or adults across print, audiovisual, and then e-books and e-audio formats developed through years of experience.

Library trendsVol. 75(2)
Openalex Percentile: Top 6%
Library Collection Development and Digital Resources
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Weeding for a Readers’ Advisory Collection — Karen Toonen · Library trends (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS