De-selection Policy
Materials withdrawal is a vital component of effective collection development. Items may be withdrawn from the collection if they are physically worn or damaged, outdated, or infrequently used. Divide County Public Library follows the CREW method—a widely recognized and trusted weeding manual for modern libraries—to guide its deselection process and ensure a relevant, high-quality collection.
Rationales for De-selection
Shelving space is limited, and to fulfill our mission of serving the diverse cultural, educational, research, and personal enrichment needs of our community, our collection must remain current, accurate, relevant, and in good condition and format. As a result, materials that are no longer accurate, actively used, or relevant to our users must be withdrawn. This process does not reflect a poor investment; rather, it acknowledges that the materials have served their intended purpose and made a meaningful contribution during their time in the collection.
Local History and Special Interest Materials
The following criteria need not be applied to items with local historical value, which typically possess appeal, significance, and scarcity in excess of materials of no cultural relation to the region. Local history materials may be retained indefinitely.
De-selection Guidelines for Material Formats and Conditions
Non-print materials can lose utility and vitality as technology advances. Older formats, such as filmstrips, slides, audiocassettes, videocassettes, computer software on magnetic media (floppy disks), etc. should be culled from the collection as the devices needed to make use of them obsolesce. The same holds true for sets and kits that include obsolete components.
Optical media (DVDs, Blu-ray discs, CDs, etc.) should be replaced or withdrawn if they are chipped, cracked, warped, or have deep scratches that affect their play.
For print materials, the following six negative factors (MUSTIE) can compromise their usefulness, making them prime candidates for de-selection:
M Misleading and/or factually inaccurate
U Ugly (worn and beyond mending/re-binding)
S Superseded (either by a new edition or a much better book on the subject)
T Trivial (of no discernible literary or scientific merit; of past ephemeral interest)
I Irrelevant to the needs and interests of your community
E Elsewhere (easily available electronically or through Interlibrary Loan)
General De-selection Guidelines by Dewey Range
| 004 Computers | De-select: · Publications more than 3 years old.Exceptions: · Current editions of Dummies and Idiot’s Guide books. · Manuals for popular software releases (Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, etc.) should be kept for both the current and preceding versions. · Guides on programming languages may remain relevant for longer periods. |
| 010 Bibliography | De-select: · Publications more than 10 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years. |
| 020 Library Science | De-select:· Publications more than 10 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.· Titles dealing with obsolete services, material types, or technologies. |
| 030 General Encyclopedias | De-select:· Publications more than 5 years old (reference).· Publications more than 8 years old (circulating). |
| 080 Books of Quotations | De-select: · Superseded editions. |
| Other 000’s | De-select:· Directories for writers more than 2 years old.· Other publications more than 5 years old.Exceptions:· Trivia books and books on oddities, controversial knowledge, UFO’s, and the unexplained can experience uncommonly lengthy periods of public interest. De-select only if they have not circulated in 3 years. |
| 101 Philosophy | De-select:· Publications more than 15 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 5 years.Exceptions:· Replace worn classics with new editions. |
| 133 Paranormal Phenomena | De-select:· Publications more than 15 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years. |
| 150 Psychology | De-select:· Publications more than 10 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.Exceptions:· Replace worn classics with new editions. |
| 158 Self-help | De-select:· Publications more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 2 years. |
| 160 Logic and170 Ethics and Morality | De-select:· Publications more than 10 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.Exceptions:· Replace worn classics with new editions. |
| 200 Religion and Mythology | De-select:· Publications more than 10 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.Exceptions:· Strive to ensure that each religion represented by a church, synagogue, or other place of assembly in your service region is represented in your collection.· Include timely and comprehensive information on Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Taoism. |
| 306 Culture and Institutions | De-select:· Publications more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 2 years. |
| 310 General Statistics | De-select:· Publications more than 2 years old. |
| 320 Political Science | De-select:· Publications more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.Exceptions:· General guides to the political process and the electoral system may be retained as long as they are accurate and circulating. |
| 323 Immigration and Citizenship | De-select:· Publications more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.· Biased, unbalanced, and inflammatory items.Exceptions:· Histories of immigration to the U.S. may be retained as long as they circulate. |
| 330 Economics | De-select:· Publications more than 3 years old.· Career guides with gender, racial, or ethnic bias.· Books on tax return preparation and estate planning that do not account for recent changes in the law. |
| 340 Law | De-select:· Publications more than 5 years old.· Study guides for law school more than 3 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 2 years.· All superseded editions.Exceptions:· Books on the history of major legal cases may be retained as long as they circulate. |
| 350 Public Administration | De-select:· Publications more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.Exceptions:· Histories of government agencies and the military may be retained as long as they circulate. · Replace worn classics with new editions. |
| 360 Social Services | De-select:· Publications more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.Exceptions:· Replace worn true crime classics with new editions. |
| 370 Education | De-select:· Publications more than 10 years old.· College guides and entrance exam books more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years. |
| 390-394 Costumes, Customs, and Holidays | De-select:· Publications more than 10 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.· Books that reflect gender, family, racial or ethnic bias. |
| 395 Etiquette | De-select:· Publications more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years. |
| 398 Folklore | De-select:· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.· Books that reflect racial or ethnic bias. |
| 400 Language | De-select:· Publications more than 10 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.Exceptions:· Replace stock dictionaries of major foreign languages on a rotating basis.· Replace unabridged English dictionaries when new editions are published.· Replace other English dictionaries more than 5 years old. |
| 507 Science Experiments | De-select:· Publications more than 10 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years. |
| 510 Mathematics | De-select:· Publications more than 10 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years. |
| 520 Space and Astronomy | De-select:· Publications more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.Exceptions:· Stargazing books may be retained as long as they circulate. |
| 550 Earth Sciences | De-select:· Field guides for amateur fossil, gem, and rock hunters more than 10 years old.· Meteorology books that include weather charts more than 10 years out of date.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.Exceptions:· Geology books on North Dakota may be kept until superseded by newer editions. |
| 560 Paleontology | De-select:· Publications more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 2 years.Exceptions:· Field guides may be retained longer, especially those that cover North Dakota. |
| 570 Life Sciences | De-select:· Publications more than 7 years old.· Publications on genetics, genetic engineering, human biology, and evolution more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.· Books sensational in tone.Exceptions: · Replace worn classics with new editions. |
| 580 Botanical Sciences | De-select:· Publications more than 10 years old.· Guides to medicinal plants and herbs more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.· Books lacking color illustrations. |
| 610 Medicine and Health | De-select:· Publications more than 5 years old.· Drug guides more than 2 years old (PDR, etc.)· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.Exceptions:· Replace worn classics (like Gray’s Anatomy) with new editions. |
| 629 Automobile Repair | De-select:· Titles that have not circulated in 2 years. |
| 630 Agriculture | De-select:· Publications more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years. |
| 635 Horticulture | De-select:· Publications more than 10 years old.· Publications on organic gardening and the use of pesticides and chemicals more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.· Books with black and white photographs. |
| 636 Pets | De-select:· Publications more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 2 years.Exceptions:· Histories of specific breeds may be retained as long as they circulate. |
| 640 Home Economics | De-select:· Publications more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.Exceptions: · Replace worn classic cookbooks with new editions. |
| 649 Child Rearing | De-select:· Publications more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.Exceptions:· Retain current editions of standard volumes, like Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care |
| 670 Manufacturing | De-select:· Publications more than 10 years old.· Publications on desktop publishing and printing technology more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.Exceptions:· Retain repair manuals for appliances until the technology is obsolete.· Retain works on tools and farm implements still used in your community. |
| 709 Art History | De-select:· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.· Books that don’t include good reproductions of major artworks. |
| 720 Architecture | De-select:· Publications more than 10 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years. |
| 737 Numismatics and769 Stamp Collecting | De-select:· Publications more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years. |
| 740 Drawing and Decorative Arts | De-select:· Publications more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.Exceptions: · Replace identification and price guides on antiques and collectibles when newer editions become available. |
| 770 Photography | De-select:· Publications more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years. |
| 791 Public Performance | De-select:· Publications more than 10 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 2 years. |
| 793-796 Games and Sports | De-select:· Publications more than 10 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.· Books with gender or racial bias in sports and athletics.· Books with outdated statistics. |
| 800 Literature | De-select:· Best-of-the-year anthologies more than 5 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.Exceptions:· Replace worn classics with new editions. |
| 910 Geography and Travel | De-select:· Guidebooks more than 3 years old.· Travelogues more than 5 years old, unless of high literary or historical value.· Titles that have not circulated in 2 years. |
| 930-999 History | De-select:· Publications more than 10 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.Exceptions:· Retain books collecting primary documents or including archival photographs. |
| B or 92 and 920 Biography | De-select:· Ghost written celebrity autobiographies more than 3 years old.· Biographies published immediately following the subject’s death or a major scandal more than 3 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 3 years.· Replace biographies of people of ongoing interest at least once a decade. |
| Fiction | De-select:· Titles that have not circulated in 2 years.· Series with missing volumes if the books do not stand alone.Exceptions:· Replace worn copies of works of high literary merit with new editions. |
| Graphic Novels | De-select:· Titles that have not circulated in 1 year.· Replace worn copies—commercial re-bindings are unattractive.Exceptions:· Classic works, such as Maus: a Survivor’s Tale, may be retained indefinitely and replaced with new editions when worn. |
| Periodicals | De-select:· Issues that are more than 3 years old.Exceptions:· Locally produced items may be retained indefinitely. |
| E Easy Readers and Picture Books | De-select:· Titles that have not circulated in 2 years.· Books that reflect racial or gender bias.· Replace worn copies—commercial re-bindings are unattractive. |
| JF Juvenile Fiction | De-select:· Award-winning titles that have not circulated in 3 years.· Other titles that have not circulated in 2 years.· Abridged and simplified classics.· Replace worn copies—commercial re-bindings are unattractive. |
| YA Young Adult Fiction | De-select:· Publications more than 3 years old.· Titles that have not circulated in 2 years.· Replace worn copies—commercial re-bindings are unattractive.Exceptions:· Replace worn classics with new editions. |
| J and YA Nonfiction | Use adult criteria for each Dewey category. |
Reviewed: 1/23/2023
Amended: 9/10/2025
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