For those who love books and knowledge, one of the most difficult things to do is weed a collection. Whether in a large academic library or a small home library, it is never easy just to throw away a book, something that we have been taught to cherish and protect, even though it is outdated, no longer relevant or even inaccurate or harmful. The practice of using the number of volumes, rather than quality of information, to measure the value of a collection does nothing to help the situation. When numbers rule, most administrators find it almost impossible to part with even the most outdated material, for fear of the appearance of not properly maintaining the growth of the library and its image in the community.
Experience sometimes proves otherwise.
While shelving books in a small public library, I stopped to browse through the books on epilepsy. One of the first books I picked up used the term 'feeble minded' to apply to those who had 'fits'. There it was in black and white in the public library just waiting for the next family who was trying to learn to deal with this illness. Because a member of my family had seizures, I recognized some of the other books on the shelf as being on the reading list published by the National Epilepsy Foundation. There were good, accurate books on the shelf, but what if the only one that was available when someone was trying to understand the illness of a family member or friend was this out-dated book that reinforces negative stereotypes rather than providing accurate information and frightens rather than brings understanding.