Thank you so much for all of your suggestions and experiences concerning
filmstrips. I enjoyed reading all of them! It seems like a problem many new
librarians encounter. Suggestions ranged from removing the filmstrips during the
cover of night to checking the circulation statistics and using that criteria to
remove them. Often people mentioned that it was just a few teachers and when they
retired, the need was gone. Many also mentioned that students enjoy filmstrips
because of the novelty of the medium.
For me it looks like I will need to keep them for a year and then I will have a
record of what is used. These materials are not on automated circulation so I will
make up a sign out sheet and use it at the end of the year for justification for
what was removed. This seems best since I want to coordinate and integrate lessons
with the social studies teacher so keeping her on friendly terms is best. An
interesting twist came up on Thursday in that I was given a $500 check for library
materials. The principal and I agree that we should look into investing in some
VHS and DVD materials that support the curriculum. So far, I have had several
teachers interested.
Points mentioned in consideration during weeding:
Also, even though some of the science titles may be old - look them over to be
sure they don't have a good example or illustration of a basic concept. Sometimes
the older ones offer an explanation of how the things got started - which is
sometimes missing from the latest material. For example, I remember a filmstrip I
had about the Space program. Granted it would be out of date now, but it had some
great footage of early space flights and early astronauts that are missing from the
videos of today and I wish I still had them.
Also, sometimes - especially for those students who have trouble grasping
concepts or the point to the story - the filmstrip, because it is so basic
with few bells and whistles and can move at a slower pace, might be just
what that student can use.
Consideration as to the physical condition of the filmstrips:
Open one of the strips. If the color is mostly red and purple, the emulsion on the
filmstrip has deteriorated. The acetate base is likely too brittle to go through
the projector even once. Try it yourself. If the sprocket holes are damaged, you
can justify weeding them on condition alone!
When/if you do decide to pitch them...
I read about an art teacher who stripped the emulsion from the
filmstrips. She then had the student draw on the frames with fine point
permanent markers to create their own filmstrips.
I don't remember how the emulsion was removed though.
Use for the metal cabinets:
Keep the metal cabinet, take the inserts out, and make it a wonderful storage
cabinet for your student store supplies.
Another option:
. . . we have decided to digitize some parts of the film strips via
a scanner with a slide adaptor. Not sure about copyright...But we will
not be reproducing the entire work and it will be used in the classroom.
I suppose we could invest our time in looking for more recent media that
has the same images, but this seems to be a more palatable solution for my
teachers.
Thank you again for your help and suggestions.
Connie Marr
Librarian
Armstrong School District
Kittanning Township Elementary School
Elderton Elementary School
conniemmarr@netscape.net
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