Weeding is Fundamental - 99% Invisible

On October 17, 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake struck at the time of the World Series, causing immediate destruction, including damage to the San Francisco Public Library. The library suffered significant losses with half a million books toppled to the floor. Although no injuries occurred, the library faced challenges in recovery, including cracked glass floors and a need to create browsing space for the public. Staff faced the difficult task of weeding the collection further to accommodate the limited space available for the curating selection of books.

On October 17th, 1989, the Oakland A's were playing the San Francisco Giants in the World Series, but just as the game was kicking off-the television broadcast cut out. When the signal came back, it was no longer the baseball game. These were the early minutes of the Loma Prieta earthquake, which struck near Santa Cruz. It was the first major earthquake ever to be broadcast live on national TV.

Library management designated a new room for public browsing. Librarians curated a selection of books they thought the public would most like to read, and those books went in that room, 'But they realized along the way that not every book was going to fit,' says Jason Gibbs, Manager in the Art, Music & Recreation Center at San Francisco Public Library.

But even this winnowed down selection of books was too large for the available space. They needed to winnow it down even more. 'The earthquake just happened, and we don't have this shelving anymore. We need to make space,' Gibbs says. 'That's a reasonable thing to do if you approach it in a thoughtful way.'

Libraries get rid of books all the time. There are so many new books coming in every day and only a finite amount of library space. The practice of freeing up library space is called weeding. 'It's like, you have to weed your garden for [...] the flowers to grow,' says Sharon Mc.

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