So what about the basics on maintaining e-books such as weeding materials? In the December 2013 issue of VOYA, Linda W. Braun asked readers of “The Unbound Word” column to “help me learn a bit about what you know and want to know about e-materials, teens, and libraries.” After receiving forty four responses from her poll, Braun found that ninety-five percent of librarians work in a library that offers e-books to teens/patrons. This is an amazing number. One interesting note in the Braun article addressed that was not a common theme among e-book articles was the idea of weeding e-book collections. When I think of weeding, e-books are not brought to mind. I think of a librarian going around with a cart and taking books off the shelves that are too tattered to remain, have an old copyright date, or are rarely checked out. Braun then makes a valid point saying, “Imagine what happens to discoverability if e-collections aren't weeded. How does a teen easily find the most up-to-date or useful materials if there are items showing up in search and browse that aren't useful to adolescents? Library staff working with teens must learn about weeding of e-collections and make sure that it is done regularly in order to guarantee that teens can easily locate what they need when they need it”(Braun). I have been frustrated with my e-reader when having so many e-books on it that I can’t find what I am looking for. If an adult that loves to read can get frustrated enough to put that e-reader down, it is guaranteed that a young adult reader will likely do the same. Weeding is an important part of maintaining a collection of e-books that cannot be overlooked by school librarians and should be part of the regular weeding policy.
*See resources page for more information on the Linda Braun article mentioned above.