developing weeding guidelines for kabubbu community library

Description

The study aimed at developing weeding guidelines for the Kabubbu Community Library (KCL) so that a clear procedure is followed when acquiring library collection. The specific objectives of the study were to; establish the condition of library materials at Kabubbu Community Library, find out the usage of library materials at KCL, find out the challenges in weeding library materials at KCL, suggest guidelines and recommend on weeding of library materials at KCL. The study employed a case study research design while adopting a qualitative research approach in the collection of data. The researcher purposively selected (1) librarian, (2) assistant librarians and (1) library attendant who participated in the study. Interviews and observation guides were used to collect data from the respondents. The major finding was that Kabubbu Community Library does not have the weeding guidelines. The library materials include; text books, reports, periodicals, electronic resources, and statutory instruments among others. The information were not in good conditions due to over use, age, mis-handling and vandalism by the library users and the poor storage facilities were not effective to protect them for a long period of time. The challenges in weeding of the library materials were; limited library staff, low demand of the library materials, limited finances, lack of formal procedures for, weeding the library collection, out dated library materials, lack of a weeding policy, and fear of creating space without replacement. The study concluded that there was a need for weeding guidelines to support librarians while carrying out the weeding of the collection. The major recommendation was the management of Kabubbu Community Library should adopt and implement the proposed weeding guidelines. The other recommendations were; setting up a collection development policy, weeding schedule, and setting up measures to regulate weeding, storage space for weeded materials, employing skilled man power, and increasing the library’s budget.