The Virtual Cart of Shame highlights items that have been weeded during our Collection Update project. These examples give insight into the necessity of this project, and they also exemplify how the chosen parameters for removal are appropriate.
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A Handbook for Elementary School Teachers, 1973 |
Three titles using "ghetto" or "slum": 1970,1965, and 1968 |
Bets Wishs Doc, 1974 |
It seems too obvious to point out, but educational standards, pedagogy, terminology, and training have all changed drastically in the last 60 years, so why would we provide content from that long ago to our students? (We've addressed the need for historiography content elsewhere on this guide). Particularly when the terminology that was used was racist! The psychological understanding and pedagogy for neuro-divergent children is light years different than it was when these books were written, although I'm sure Dr. Martin E. Cohen was a lovely person who did what he could with what he knew at the time.
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| Spine and inside cover of The Disadvantaged Child, 1966 |
This example is a good reminder that books don't last forever physically, either. While the content in the book is certainly outdated, the condition of this book also makes it a candidate for deselection. The original spine deteriorated long ago, was replaced by black tape and handwritten spine--and now that tape is also deteriorating.
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The Mirror of Brass: The compensation and working conditions of college and university administrators, 1968
This museum piece includes such statistics as how female college presidents made up only 79 of the 813 respondents--and those 79 were mostly for Catholic schools, which were mostly all women's-only schools. There is also the interesting section on "The President's Wife," quoted above, but no acknowledgement of the possibility or existence of a president's husband...although, even though 50 years have now passed, women still only account for 30%of college presidents (according to the American Council on Education data from 2019). Food for thought.
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Whitaker's Almanack 1998
In the statistics section (310s), we used a more recent cut-off date. Statistical data is nearly always published digitally now, and this entire section had extremely low usage. This did mean we let go of such gems as this Whitaker's 1998 Almanack, which includes helpful information such as how student grants are procured in the UK...over 20 years ago. It does have a nice pic of the Spice Girls on the back cover (and Dolly the Sheep, and three pictures related to Princess Diana...lots of memories if you were in high school then, shoutout to Gen Y!).
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The Christian Encounters: Politics and Government, 1965
The scan is pretty small, so here's an excerpt that really demonstrates the outdated/white-centric/American-centric wording:
"But all such talk simply avoids or obscures the truth that the American system of government is more nearly utopian than that of most other nations. In modern America every citizen is entitled to a part of the whole. Within limits which he himself has established, he may think, say, and do what he will. This is because Americans are a free people. Freedom is the vital force of democracy."
Um, Mr. Elbrecht, James Baldwin would like to have a word with you...
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The Science of Hypnotism, 1936
In addition to the compromised quality due to the stains on the cover and the highlighting inside the volume, this is clearly not the most up-to-date commentary from the psychology field on the subject of hypnotism.
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Instructional Media and Creativity, 1966
While quaint, this is the not the type of content education majors need when wanting to learn how to incorporate multimedia resources into their pedagogy.
Planning and Furnishing the Church Library, 1966
Page 12 includes this recommendation for bulletin boards: "Celo-Tex, framed and painted to decor, is suitable." Celotex was a company that manufactured fiberboard products made with asbestos until the 1980's. The link I provided goes to information about the ongoing lawsuit against them.
Upgrade and Maintain Your PC, 1994; Internet 101: A College Student's Guide, 1995; The Green PC, 1993
These books weeded from the 000s section show how it is important to adjust the cutoff date according to discipline. Most computer manuals are outdated after about 5 years, so the computer and digital areas were weeded up to 2015, apart from works of historical significance or works with circulation history.
Music Activities for [redacted] Children, 1965
Our music education and music therapy students need current literature on meeting the needs of students with a variety of abilities. And while it’s important to know that the redacted term used to be the correct one to use professionally, that’s a lesson best covered in class. There’s no need for a physical example that is taking up space on the shelf when more current and just books could be living there.
The Progressive Glee and Chorus Book, 1879
The age and condition of this book should be evidence enough. If there were a scratch ‘n sniff button on the internet, you would have even further evidence.
What to Expect in Seminary, 1998
This one falls well within our date range to keep—and in fact, this was brought to our attention by a religion faculty member, not the snapshot audit. Seminary expectations from 20+ years ago are not the type of information our students need to browse (and check out that sweet, sweet floppy disk). While this book would not have been “caught” under the current project’s parameters, it’s still showcases how regular updating through weeding helps keep a collection relevant.
Vogel Library, Wartburg College | 100 Wartburg Blvd, Waverly, IA, 50677 | Phone: 319-352-8500 | Email: asklibrarian@wartburg.edu
