Book Transfers to Compact (2025- ): The Libraries are beginning a project to transfer very low use books to the Compact Storage Facility (CSF). Criteria for transferring books includes (1) being in the collection for at least 25 years, and (2) not being checked out recently. Recent check out is defined as 25 years for arts, humanities, and social sciences or 15 years for sciences, technology & engineering, education, business, and health professions.
Q Books from Second Floor (2025): In Summer 2025, we will temporarily transfer books in the Q-QR call number ranges to the CSF. This temporary transfer is necessary for the construction of the new space for the Holmes Museum of Anthropology on the second floor of Ablah Library during Fall 2025. If you need a book from the CSF, please ask Access Services to retrieve it.
Lower Level Flooding (2025): In March 2025, a broken water pipe caused flooding in the Lower Level. The flooding accelerated removal of bound serials in the R-Z call number ranges, as additional recycling bins were provided for flood cleanup. Approximately 150,000 items were packed for off-site storage so flood damage could be repaired. Stored items include books in the R-Z call number ranges, microfilm and microfiche, Government documents in SuDoc classification C21, and bound serials related to Kansas housed in CSF. The Libraries anticipate that materials will be in storage until early Fall 2025. Please use our interlibrary loan service to obtain materials you need while the Lower Level books are in remote storage.
Chemistry Library (2024): The Libraries and Chemistry Department agreed to decommission the Chemistry Library, which primarily housed bound serials and had very low use.
Government Documents (2024): WSU Libraries became a digital selective member of the Federal Depository Library Program, after consulting with our Regional Depository at the University of Kansas. As the state’s patent depository, we agreed to retain an extensive collection of print documents in SuDoc classification C21, which were transferred to the CSF.
Bound Serials (2022- ): Most journals have been digitized over the last two decades, either by publishers or by library consortiums. The WSU Libraries provide access to thousands of digitized journals through purchase and database subscriptions. When we don’t have a subscription, we can get journal articles very quickly via interlibrary loan. The Libraries began removing bound serials that are available in digital format in 2022. This project includes removing bound serials from the CSF (completed January 2025), Lower Level (completed March 2025), Second Floor, and Third Floor. Serials published in or focused on Kansas are being retained even when available digitally. Art serials are being retained while the quality of digital images is reviewed. The Libraries are working with the Physical Plant’s recycling program to dispose of materials.
Deselection (Ongoing): The Libraries are reviewing the collections for dangerously outdated materials. Many older books remain valuable, but in subjects like healthcare, old and outdated resources can be dangerous for libraries to keep. Other books, like scholarship guides, test preparation materials, career resources, and obsolete software books cause students to waste substantial time if they don’t realize the book has substantial outdated and inaccurate information. We are systematically reviewing the collection and removing dangerously outdated books to make the collection more useful to our campus community. The Libraries work with the Physical Plant’s recycling program to dispose of withdrawn books.
