Library Begins Collection Maintenance Project
The UNH Library has created this FAQ to address questions about its fall 2026 deselection process and plans for the future use of library space.
A few key points:
- None of the books identified for review have been checked out in the past decade. Many have not been used in 20 years or more, and some have never been checked out.
- All of the books will remain accessible through state and national library-sharing networks, even if physical copies are removed from UNH's collection.
- Faculty input is part of the decision-making process. Faculty have been invited to review the titles under consideration, and their feedback will help determine which books are retained.
- Library space can be put to better use, creating more room for services, study areas and resources that students and faculty use regularly.
Frequently Asked Questions
The following FAQ explains the review process, how decisions will be made and how the library's planned renovation will address changing campus needs.
What is deselection?
Deselection, more commonly known as “weeding,” is a common practice used by libraries worldwide to ensure collections remain relevant. It is best practice for all libraries to review materials in their collection and remove items for a variety of reasons, including age, condition, low use, and dated content. Weeding is an important library process used to ensure limited local library spaces best meet the current needs of any user community through a balance of book space and service/study space. UNH is no exception.
Why is the UNH Library engaging in a deselection process now?
The UNH Library has begun deselection for several reasons. First and foremost, the library has not engaged in this important practice, ideally done annually, for more than a decade. Moreover, the library has been identified for a phased, multi-year, full-building renovation beginning in 2028. It is standard practice for a library to review its collection prior to renovation planning. This is particularly important because Dimond was last renovated in 1996, before online resources emerged as a ubiquitous tool.
Is the library getting rid of all print materials?
No. The library has identified close to 300,000 books that are under review for potential deselection. The number that will be removed will be determined after we consider faculty input and will be substantially smaller than 300,000.
Is the library getting rid of one-third of its collection?
No. The books identified for review for potential deselection account for one-third of the library’s print collection. The library’s total collection is 4.5 million titles. These books make up less than 7% of the library’s collection. And once we receive faculty input, the amount of books removed will be substantially smaller than that. Decisions about removing print volumes from the library’s physical collection will be made carefully, in consultation with faculty across campus.
How were books identified as candidates for deselection review?
We conducted significant research into the use of our collection as well as availability more widely through other collections. The books identified for review are all low-use and no-use volumes that are easily accessible through other means. The criteria for deselection review includes all of the following:
- Item has not been used in the past 10 years (either checked out, renewed, or used in the library—yes, we collect all of this data).
- Item has been used fewer than 10 times since the date we acquired it.
- Item is not something we have agreed to retain as part of EAST (Eastern Academic Scholars' Trust) or another cooperative collection agreement.
- Item is easily obtained for UNH researchers (through our own online collection, through HathiTrust, through the Internet Archive, and/or through multiple interlibrary loan options).
How are faculty providing input?
The library created a searchable database of titles under review. So as not to overwhelm faculty with hundreds of thousands of titles, we originally planned to share specific subsets of the titles under review with faculty by area of expertise. However, we received feedback this spring that faculty felt it was important they have an opportunity to review the entire list. Therefore, faculty across campus had access to all titles that met deselection criteria and were asked to provide input directly through the list through October 21, 2026. We have also accommodated several requests for alternative ways to review.
Why were students not asked for input?
Input was solicited from faculty because curriculum is a faculty domain. The library collection exists to support the curriculum and Faculty expertise is the most appropriate source of input.
What happens to books that are deselected?
In response to faculty input, we are currently working on a process for sharing some of the books we remove with UNH faculty and students and will have details later in the semester. Our process also includes sending materials we remove to Better World Books to be resold or donated, and we are exploring other options to repurpose the books we no longer need.
How will research and teaching needs be protected if we are getting rid of books?
The books deselected in the coming months are extremely unlikely to be regularly used for teaching and research, as they haven’t been used in at least the past decade. To further ensure we do not remove any needed titles, we are asking faculty for feedback to be used in decisions about whether to retain a title.
How can we preserve the scholarly record if we weed books?
Libraries today work together to preserve the scholarly record by joining cooperative print retention agreements. Because no library can own everything, libraries have developed sophisticated networks to ensure that the scholarly record is preserved and accessible. We work together to make sure an agreed upon number of libraries retain print holdings so other libraries can remove their low-use print copy, knowing they can borrow it from another library if and when they need it. Through our agreement with EAST (Eastern Academic Scholars' Trust), the UNH Library has agreed to retain and preserve over 150,000 titles. Other libraries have committed to retaining and preserving those books we are considering for removal.
All of the library's books are available in the library on the Durham campus, right?
The UNH Library supports users on campus and across the globe. So that online students and faculty can access materials from anywhere, we default to purchasing electronic books rather than print books. We don’t have the budget to purchase more than one copy of a book, so the collection growth is all electronic and has been for the last ten years, since we adopted an e-preferred policy. The print books we own are an increasingly aging and increasingly smaller percentage of our overall collection.
Isn’t a library collection comprised of the research materials held in our buildings?
Library collections are no longer a bunch of tangible items. No library has the budget to purchase all of the published content in the world, nor does any individual library have the space to store it all. For the UNH Library, as for libraries around the world, collections are a service. We can’t buy and store everything physically, but we can find it, borrow it, and give our students and faculty access to it when and where they need it.
Has the library been forced to weed books to create a Student Success Center?
No. The library has a significant amount of underutilized space and could locate a student success center in Dimond tomorrow, if desired.
Why does the library have so much underutilized space?
Dimond Library was renovated in 1996—just before high-quality, authoritative internet-based research tools became so prevalent. The library also had nearly 100 employees at that time. Because library work has changed significantly in the past 30 years, the UNH Library now employs 46 people, requiring less desk and office space.
We also have considerable space dedicated to outdated, low-use formats, such as print bound journals, microfilm, and microfiche, and about 10 times more space than we need dedicated to the re-shelving process, as circulation and in-library use of print materials has decreased substantially since 1996. All of this space can be repurposed to better meet the needs of campus.
Why does UNH need a Student Success Center?
The goal is to coordinate the academic support services that students need, and locate them together in one central location, in a way that feels coordinated from the student perspective. To quote Vice President of Student Life Ken Holmes:
When students have to figure out where to go or who to talk to, we lose time, and sometimes we lose them. Done well, a space that integrates students supports removes that friction. It creates a front door where students can show up, be understood, and get connected quickly to the right support.
Why does the Student Success Center need to be in Dimond Library?
Dimond is the academic heart of campus, and the Student Success Center will provide academic support for students.
What else will be in the library after the renovation?
The library hopes to partner with other campus services and offices with missions that align with our own to support the Chancellor’s request to minimize the campus footprint (One UNH: Roadmap to 2030). Additionally, if possible, we hope to bring our unique collections, currently housed in the Library Storage Building on the periphery of campus, back to Dimond Library.
By removing volumes that aren’t essential to have on campus in print format, we can also redesign spaces to provide more of what our community needs:
- Collaboration and community space
- Individual space (for presentation practice, telehealth appointments, job interviews, etc.)
- Technology-enabled space
- Space to host events and programs
You are a library—how can you dedicate less space to books?
Libraries are and have always been more than buildings to hold books, and we continue to evolve in the ways we fulfill our essential duty of providing equitable access to information. For example, the UNH Library circulated about 250,000 physical items in 1999, compared to about 12,000 physical items—and almost two million digital items—last year.
The ways people use libraries have changed, and we are using the renovation as an opportunity to respond to those changes, while remaining true to our mission and vision: to encourage learning, foster world-class scholarship, serve as the university’s intellectual common ground, and provide vibrant community spaces to support the public good.
