LibGuides: Collection Development at the Cabrillo College Library: Deselection Policies

General Principles for Deselection

Evidence-based deselection, or weeding of materials in all formats is an essential component of the library’s collection management responsibilities, in order to:

Ensure that the overall collection is relevant and useful to Cabrillo Library users
Eliminate outdated and worn-out materials
Replace content with updated formats
Maximize shelf and floor space
Make materials more accessible and easier to find

Process & Timelines for Deselection

Deselection occurs:

On a day-to-day basis, as personnel handle/process materials (ie. Removing 2nd copies /older editions)
Annually in the summer
On a project basis, as needed

The library follows the CREW-MUSTIE guidelines, widely accepted by the library profession, in making deselection decisions. This means we justify the removal of items from the collection based on their date of purchase, rate of circulation, and use as course reserves.

CREW stands for Continuous Review, Evaluation, and Weeding. The CREW method
gives six general criteria for considering weeding an item from the collection which are
summarized with the acronym MUSTIE:

M = Misleading—factually inaccurate
U = Ugly – worn beyond mending or rebinding
S = Superseded – by a new edition of/or by a much better book on the subject
T = Trivial – of no discernible literary or scientific merit
I = Irrelevant to the needs and interests of the library’s community
E = Elsewhere – the material is easily obtainable from another library