Health 610s

This section contains the family medical guides and the medical dictionaries. I'm not putting them on a cart behind the desk because it is obvious by their condition that they are used a lot and that people know they are there.

I think we should update the ones that have newer editions such as The American College of Physicians Complete Home Medical Guide, Mosby's Medical, Nursing & Allied Health Dictionary, etc.

There are a couple of other family medical guides (Cornell and Johns Hopkins) which are in the 616s. I would like to get these with the others in the 610s.

The only items I think should be discarded here are the old 3 volume International Dictionary of Medicine and Biology which is 25 years old, and the alternative medicine career book, which is 10 years old and which is covered in our online Ferguson's Career Directory.

Health REF 362s

Yes, there's a lot of junk in this section. Take a look at the cart. Everything on the bottom shelf I propose throwing out, either because it's outdated, or available online.

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On the left hand side of the top shelf are items that to me are iffy--no updates for most of them, but still widely held by both academic and public libraries, and containing unique information. I'm proposing that we keep them for the time being, but if any of you think they should go, I wouldn't argue.

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We should continue to get the latest edition of the Self Help Group Directory as a standing order. It is useful and inexpensive.

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Of the 3 books of stats, Health United States has a 2009 ed for $72; Health Care State Rankings has a 2010 ed for $82.75. Statistical Record of Health and Medicine has no update that I could find. Do we want to get these updates? Most of the material here probably could be found online, but I think the real value is in the arrangement, and the ideas it provides of the availability and sources of stats, which then can be looked up online.

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The group of small items in a rubber band are old statistics for child abuse and welfare in New Jersey. The statistics online only go back to 2006. Do we want to keep?

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And finally, the AHA Guide. This is a standing order at about $335. Is it worth it?

Publications of the Princeton Regional Schools

The library receives a random selection of publications from the Princeton Regional School System. I (Gayle) am trying to decide what we need to keep, what should be cataloged and what can be discarded.
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Currently we have the PRS Policy Manual, updated every now and again, shelved behind the reference desk. This item is in the catalog.
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We also have the School Board Meeting Minutes in a binder on the same shelves. This binder is arranged by month and can hold up to three years worth of material. Earlier years I have in a file cabinet and the other day I found 2004 and 2005 in a box on the magazine shelves. How long should be keep the minutes? Should they be cataloged? Should the back years go in the Princeton Room? Be discarded?
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We also get titles such as the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Fiscal Year xxxx, though I can only find two years of this. They are currently uncataloged. One copy was found behind the reference desk and another in a box on the magazine shelves. What should we do with these? Catalog them? Princeton Room? Vertical File?
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All feedback is welcome!!

More Weeds (Ref 360's)

This section contains quite a few items that haven't been off the shelves for years, and probably should be discarded. There are so many of them they are on a separate cart. Basically if you have any strong feelings about any of the items on the discard cart, or any of the items in the non discard cart, let me know. I'm flexible.

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Some questions: Kristen, look at Earth Works. Do you think this is worthwhile for readers advisory?

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Bloodletters and Badmen and The Encyclopedia of American Crime: they are both really fun to browse, but do we need them both? On the other hand, where else are you going to find stuff like this.

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Crime in the United States: We have 2002-2005; 2008-2010. What do you think about keeping them all? This is all online, but I found it difficult to get to. Try getting to some of the tables and see if you have as hard a time as I did.

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TheStreet.com Ratings: (Property/Casualty, Health Insurers, Life and Annuity Insurers): These come out quarterly. I think we should keep at least one previous issue, because since I have been prominently displaying them on the counter top, they can disappear. Also, there is a set that includes 8 titles (Elder Care Choices, Variable Annuities, Medicare Supplement Insurance, etc.) that is in Consumer REF. I have them displayed in the same place. Maybe we should think about having them all catalogued in the same place?

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The Social Security publications: We certainly don't need all those. particularly for both ref and circ. They are all standing orders. I propose we discontinue Social Security Handbook, which is the most expensive, and limit CCH Social Security Explained and CCH Medicare Explained to one reference copy. Or do you think, with everything online, we could limit ourselves to the two small CCH publications?

Reference 350's

I'll bet if I asked most of you what's in the Ref 350's you'd have to look it up. I would have. Anyway there's not a whole lot here, and what is here is not used much, but most of it is nice to have. A lot of it falls in the category of "We are a library--where else are you going to find this stuff."

The discards:
New Jersey Budget and Budget in Brief - All online
Government Agencies - too old (1983) , no update and info can be found elsewhere.
The Presidency A to Z - Really don't need this with the two volume Guide to the Presidency plus it's 10 years older.
United States Government Manual - this is a standing order that I think we can do without. It's only about $40 but I can't remember when I used it last. This info is readily available online and is much more likely to be up-to-date.

On the other hand, the Washington Information Directory I think we should keep. Take a look at it if you haven't for a while--the value here is in the arrangement of the information. It is much easier to get a composite picture of a government department here than it is from the comparable website, even though the website has tons more information.

The Harper Encyclopedia of Military History is a gem, and the military biography titles do not really overlap. Webster's American Military Biographies seemed extraneous until I realized that it had some very different entries than the 3 volume set, like women, for example, plus spies, scouts, etc.

Let me know what you think.

The Weeding Continues

Rather than reviewing the next Dewey section, I am putting up for your consideration a number of large sets we have throughout the reference collection. What should we get rid of and what should we keep. What is worth the space it takes up and what isn't. There are some I think should go, but others of these I'm very opposed to tossing (we are a library, after all). In the interest of not prejudicing your opinion one way or the other, I won't let you know at this point what my thoughts are. I want to know what you think.

Here they are:

Contemporary Authors

Contemporary Literary Criticism

Dictionary of Literary Biography

Short Story Index

American Writers/British Writers

Readers Guide

Book Review Digest

Book Review Index

Current Book Review Citations

NYT Index

Art Index

Thomas Register 2003

As always, this is not only a weeding exercise, it is also to let you know what we have and where it is. If you have forgotten all about a particular set, or never knew we had it in the first place, hm...... What does that say about it's current usefulness.

346 - 349

This is the last of the 340's and it is a large section. A number of items I just discarded because they had already been updated by something else. And, as in the previous section, there are a number of things, particularly the Nolo books, that need to be updated.
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Some new additions here. When we discontinued the WestLaw NJ database, we got new printed materials from the New Jersey Practice Series that will be updated on a regular basis. This set includes the 8 volume Wills & Administration, the 3 volume Landlord Tenant, the 3 volume Family Practice (all with forms), and the 7 volume Legal Forms. Our WestLaw rep said this would replace the green New Jersey Forms Legal and Business, which we are no longer updating. It costs about $550 per year. The rep said that we would no longer need it with the new stuff. but I'm willing to reconsider if you think we need it as well. Otherwise this will be discarded.
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A couple of items that came automatically with our new WestLaw package: Neighboring Property Owners and West's New Jersey Law Finder, which is like the 3 volume NJSA index, only not as good.
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As you know, we are discontinuing the USCA, but are continuing the NJSA and NJAC. So we need to get rid of the entire USCA, because it is of little use without the updating service. It is also useless to offer it to another library, because the great expense and value of this is the updating service. So it goes.
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The other sets on that back wall that are probably of little use to us are West's New Jersey Digest (brown set, covers cases pre 1954) and the 2nd edition (red set, covers cases since 1954 to 2004 when the updating stopped). They were donated to us by a law firm in 2004 without the updating service. They actually do have some value, although I have never used them, nor have I been asked for them. They give specific cases that have been decided on various topics, for example, under "Eviction" Chelsea Hotel Corp v Gelles, 1942 ruled that an eviction of a tenant by the landlord suspends the obligation of tenant to pay rent..." and so on. Hmmm....what do you think?
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Take a look at the Supreme Court material on the middle shelf. Should we get rid of any of it? I couldn't decide--I thought each had value.
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Getting rid of the USCA, and relocating the NYT index and the Book Review Digests will make a lot of room on that back wall for our new legal reference section. Specific sections would be immigration, wills and estates, family law, landlord tenant. Let me know of other possible sections. Sections will be color coded rather than recataloged. Also, I'm going to be checking catalogs for face out shelves, etc.
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Any ideas here also would be appreciated. Since we are through the 330s and 340s I think we can go right ahead with our plans for those two areas.