Letting books go without regret
· 4 min read
Librarians call it weeding: regularly removing what is no longer useful so the rest stays findable. A private reader may do the same, and reading becomes more pleasant for it.
Three questions
Have I read it, or will I? Will I consult it again? Is it easily replaced? If all three answers are no, the book can go. If you hesitate, set it aside for a quarter and see whether you look for it.
The ones you keep anyway
Gifts, annotated copies, a lost relative's books. The test then isn't use but memory, and that is legitimate. Note it on the record so you won't have to justify it next time.
Where they go
A friend who's waiting for them, a neighbourhood library, a mosque or school that takes books. Mark them as given in the catalogue instead of deleting the record: the history stays, and the list reflects what you truly have.