Weeding Practices Existing in Sri Lankan University Libraries: An analysis of the current situation

Weeding is one of the important tasks in managing library collections. The process is a common routine practice in developed countries irrespective of the type of the library. This study was conducted to examine the present situation of book withdrawal procedure in university libraries in Sri Lanka and future development requirements of the same.

Chief librarians of all the national universities of the country were consulted for the study and the data were gathered from 15 universities through a self administered questionnaire. No special statistical technique was employed as the whole population was consulted for the study. Except two universities, all the others responded to the questionnaire.

The results disclosed that weeding practice in university libraries are with severe discrepancies and need urgent attention. This issue has to be addressed at national level to build up a national de-selection framework with room to address individual institutional requirements.

Journal of the University Librarians Association of Sri Lanka. Vol.13 (Issue 1). 2009 13-25