What criteria is used for deselection?
What deselection criteria was used during the streamlining project ?
Answer
We seldom change our basic process for determining criteria. We start with the CREW manual, a method used for over 30 years in both public and academic libraries. This method has been combined with the MUSTIE guidelines more commonly heard of in academic library settings.
But these guidelines are only a starting point. Professional liaison librarians in each subject area review the standard recommendations and change the criteria to meet the needs of their program areas. For example, the standard guidelines for Computers (Dewy Decimal Classification 004) advise that items older than 3 years old be deselected. But the liaison librarians considered that our collection is small, our location is rural, and although computer information is ever changing, some of our constituents are still using older models, languages, and software. For the purposes of running the initial report, we asked that the 3-year limit be extended to 5 years.
Once the modified deselection criteria are agreed upon, the initial reports are developed. But again, creating report criteria is only the first step in the collection management review process.
