Out with the Old to Make Room for the New: Purging Old Technology

At Ewing last week the librarian gave me the task of going through a cabinet filled to the brim with bulbs for various projectors and other equipment. After double checking which bulbs were still used, I found that only maybe 8 varieties out of the 40 different kinds were still used. I then proceeded to fill 7 copy paper boxes with bulbs that dated back to the 1950's easily.

I could not believe how much outdated equipment was in that cabinet, and how long that it had been in there. There is an entire cage filled with old, unusable equipment, and I know that is way less than was there when the librarian now at Ewing first assumed her position.

The question then becomes, what can we part with, and what may we still need? I know that in most fields this is a struggle to determine what is still of use. We all like to say the old technique "if it has not been used in 2-3 years, chuck it," but its hard to justify that.

I think the librarian's job is to look at all of that equipment, and determine first of all what is still compatible with modern systems, and what still serves some sort of purpose. One of the pieces in the cage was an opaque projector. While it hasn't been used recently, the librarian made a good point that the art department may want it for projecting for a mural or project.

The next step, then, is to get the word out. Let the teachers and administrators know what you still have that could be used, and what they may want to use it for. This even goes back to the document camera that I discussed in a previous post. Half of the staff probably does not know that we have that technology in the school. The library and its materials will only be used if we in the library are proactive and advertise what we have.

There is a place for some older technology. But we also have to make way for the new. It is important to stay on top of the changes and keep organized so that you always know what you have and what is accessible. I am excited to continue helping purge the materials in the cage and organize what we have so that everything will get greater use.