Libraries Won't Cull Classics
Area libraries pare collections for space reasons, but classics usually remain on the shelves
By LAURA MOYER
Date published: 1/14/2007
Libraries regularly weed their collections of literary wallflowers, those dowdy works that never seem to circulate.
Space is precious, and old or middle-aged titles have to compete against every dewy debutant that captures an Oprah nod or a book-club buzz. Movies, music and recorded books and other, newer media claim more space every year.
But no libraries in the Fredericksburg area have ditched Dickens or axed Austen, and area librarians say there will always be room and a steady if small demand for the classics.
A recent news story about the Fairfax County library system's method of culling its collection implied otherwise, describing the ruthless banishing of books that didn't circulate within a two-year span. Patron demand might mean John Grisham could give Ernest Hemingway the heave-ho, or "The Da Vinci Code" could displace "Moby Dick."
Whether or not that's an accurate characterization of Fairfax's methods, it doesn't reflect the collection-weeding policies of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library--which serves Fredericksburg and the counties of Spotsylvania, Stafford and Westmoreland--or of the library systems in Fauquier, Orange and King George counties, librarians say.
In general, librarians who make decisions about collections said patron demand is only one factor in determining which books stay or go. Just as important are a book's physical condition and in some cases its timeliness.
A copy of a children's classic on a school reading list, for example, might get pulled not because it doesn't get checked out, but because it circulates so much it falls apart.
"After 45 or 50 kids have read 'The Black Stallion,' it's kind of rough," said Katie Hill of the Orange County library system. In some cases, a discarded book is replaced immediately, and in other cases it's available from at least one of the county's three branches, so a patron can ask for a copy to be delivered to his home library.
Even a book in good condition must go if librarians determine it's no longer up to date. Nonfiction books on health, medicine and law get frequent reviews for timeliness, said Fran Burke-Urr of Fauquier's library system. Books about less-changeable topics, such as art or home repair, have longer shelf lives.
What readers want
The Central Rappahannock Regional Library's five most-circulated titles for December and January:
Fiction
'Twelve Sharp,' by Janet Evanovich
'Beach Road,' by James Patterson
'Two Little Girls in Blue,' by Mary Higgins Clark
'Angel's Fall,' by Nora Roberts
'Dear John,' by Nicholas Sparks
Nonfiction
'The Innocent Man: Murder & Injustice in a Small Town,' by John Grisham
'The Audacity of Hope,' by Barack Obama
'Christmas With Southern Living'
'You on a Diet,' by Michael Roizon
'The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid,' by Bill Bryson
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Date published: 1/14/2007
Most recent reader comments:
No Dicken's?
(posted by
gayle429
, Sep. 25, 2007 2:41 pm)
As a former employee of CRRL I am so glad to read the statements made by Caroline Parr. While space has always been a problem, CRRL comes up with some creative ways to keep these classics circulating while appeasing the new fiction readers. They have their hands full trying to keep up but they do their best. Yeah CRRL!
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