In July of last year, the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library started an 18-month braille book weeding and cleaning project. The library’s braille collection contained books from before the 1970s through present day and – outside of a minor cleanup in 2017 – had not received much attention as far as cleaning, shifting and maintenance in the last decade. All of the braille books in the collection have been provided by the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled through the Library of Congress, and as such, weeding has previously been discouraged.However, due to age, rough handling and heavy usage – as well as leaks and temperature control issues – a portion of the braille books were no longer usable or fit for circulation. Additionally, many of the older nonfiction books contained outdated information on medicine, health, technology, job training and legal information. With the objective of maintaining the quality of the collection, each member of the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library staff was assigned a handful of sections from the braille collection and charged with weeding out these damaged and outdated items, and cleaning and shifting the remaining books.The amount of weeding was significant in the beginning, since the project started with the oldest books, which had been circulating longest, therefore receiving the heaviest damage. After the first few rounds of weeding, cleaning and shifting became the priority. Like all Talking Book and Braille Library collections, the braille collection is sent by mail to patrons statewide. Without regular cleaning, dirt and grime easily accumulated on book covers, inside pages and subsequently on the shelves. Similarly to the weeding, the need for cleaning was heavier in the earlier stages of the project.The Talking Book and Braille Library staff is currently in the final stages of the 18-month braille book project. With weeding and much of the cleaning finished, the main focus has become shifting the collection. Since new braille books continue to arrive on a weekly basis, staff is eager to finish the last of the shifting and open a portion of the storage room for the incoming braille books. The braille book project will officially be completed in December.

This post was submitted by Camden Wright, Indiana Talking Books and Braille Library.