To Weed or Not to Weed? : Undertaking a Large-Scale Print Serials Withdrawal Project

Abstract

Many academic libraries continue to deal with a large footprint of print serials, even years after ongoing print subscriptions are canceled. Calls for additional student-focused spaces in libraries make this stagnant footprint difficult to justify, and even though many libraries want their spaces to be used, they might be reticent to undertake the changes necessary to accommodate these requests. This case study documents how a land-grant research library, previously averse to weeding, planned for and implemented its own large-scale print serials withdrawal project during the 2025–2026 academic year. By highlighting prior weeding projects, as well as