Gracia Imperial brings her 16-month-old daughter Amira to the Winnipeg Public Library every week. They always find something new.
"There's a wide range to the collection here,â she says. âAnd every week we find new books that are really interesting.â
The library always seems fresh thanks to librarians who go through the shelves and do a process called âweeding.â
They examine each book and throw out the tomes that no longer meet patronsâ needs, making room for the new titles.
Barbara Bourrier-Lacroix showed CTV Winnipeg the âweeding process,â also known as collections management.
âThey have a fun little acronym to help you remember as youâre going through your collection,â she said. âIt's MUSTIE.â
M stands for misleading, which includes books that seem factually inaccurate or out of date.
U stands for ugly, which includes worn or damaged copies.
S stands for superseded, referring to titles that can be replaced by newer editions.
T stands for trivial, which includes books that are poorly written or were only popular for a short period of time.
I is for irrelevant to the community.
E stands for elsewhere, meaning the information is available in another format or at another branch.
During a recent round of weeding, Bourrier-Lacroix found a book with a stain on it and marked it as âUgly.â
âThis oneâs got water spilled on it,â she said. âWe hope itâs water.â
âItâs constant upkeep,â she added. âThatâs what we do.â