Last week, the Urbana Free Library decided to weed out vast amounts of their nonfiction collections based solely on date; prints published prior to 2003 were flagged for removal.

Weeding is not an uncommon procedure for library systems. As new books arrive, others need to be removed to make space, a simple reflection of supply and demand. The UFL is not unfamiliar with these processes; it acquires about 200 new books in the Adult Services section and 50 in Children’s Services each week.

Aside from clearing space, the weeding process is also meant to prepare book collections for radio-frequency identification tagging, an electronic inventory tracking system. RFID systems are meant to simplify the checkout process, increase the efficiency of inventory procedures and searching, and improving materials handling systems. The removed books would be donated to a book redistribution company and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District.  

But weeding wasn’t the issue, nor was the UFL’s intentions in doing so. The UFL’s interpretation and execution of weeding procedures were the problem. 

Physical condition, frequency of use, duplicate prints, historical significance, collection strength, outdated information and availability through interlibrary loans are the remaining selection criteria that the UFL disregarded. Instead, the library resorted to date — for time and “efficiency” — and date only. 

And while the library may increase revenue by weeding and making room for new and updated prints, the library should also consider exactly what helps supply its collections — tax money. The people who are utilizing the library’s services and resources are the same people who are funding it: Urbana residents. 

Taxpayer money should — as the UFL intended by implementing RDIF tagging systems — be maximized, but done so properly. Through cutting corners, the UFL implies that getting things done as quickly as possible is more important than doing things correctly and well. 

Sacrificing all selection criteria for only one puts library collections in jeopardy. It puts Urbana residents’ tax money in jeopardy. The UFL should and needs to weed their collections, but in the right way, with the right intentions.