Module 5 of ETL503 has been highly informative and highly applicable to the TL’s role. The large section on weeding has had my brain stirring as it is a focus goal during my first year of being a TL.

The school I currently work in does not have a library collection and deselection policy. From engaging in module 5, I can see that before I begin to weed resources, a policy needs to be developed. A major aim for this semester is to have this policy developed and communicated with all staff so the weeding process can begin. It will be through this policy I will make known:

• who will weed
• how it will be carried out
• when it will be done/how regularly
• how weeded items will be disposed of

Another stand out point of module 5 was the need to weed online resources. When I think of my library, I instantly think of all the non-fiction resources that need to be weeded. I would have to ensure when creating a selection and deselection policy, our large collection of online resources is also heavily considered. I agree with the point in the module that good quality resources can become obscured among other resources if weeding does not take place effectively.

My favourite part about module 5’s weeding content, was LaGarde’s (2013) F.R.E.S.H acronym and blog post. I think this is a great skeleton for developing a deselection policy and a great, simple way for staff to understand the need to not only acquire resources, but dispose of as well.