A recent ‘weeding out’ of books from the Northwest library have left some shelves bare. Library clerk Kim Isherwood explains that this methodical paring down of books serves to clean out unnecessary or irrelevant books, hoping to make libraries more up to date.

“It’s a district policy that librarians [weed out] books. They look at the condition of the book, the age of the book…they also look at how often a book has been checked out,” Isherwood said. “Some of the classic literature books they’re going to keep no matter how old the story is. But if the book’s falling apart, or we have 10 copies of something then we don’t probably need it.”

In order to clear up rumors that have been surfacing, Isherwood wanted to point out that they’re not just throwing the books away, and that they go to a book donation service, and that hopefully this will ultimately benefit the students.

“I’m hoping that by taking out some of these older books, especially in non-fiction, students will be able to see the newer books easier and use them more,” Isherwood said.