Inside the covers of the Crestwood House Monsters series, adventures await!

Part of a librarian’s job is to weed the collection (obviously, you know this already if you are a librarian). That is exactly what it sounds like– pulling undesirable materials that have taken root (and shelf space). By “undesirable” I mean books that are damaged, or that have incorrect information, or that are old and worn out. These last are the hardest, because they usually are books that have been thoroughly loved for many, many years. Although they may not be checked out frequently any more, there are certain kids for whom you know those books will be just right. When I was a school librarian, I struggled with getting rid of the falling-apart Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books, and when it came time to take three shelves of beat up Nancy Drew books down, I offered them to a teacher who couldn’t bear to see them exit the building (teachers will rubber band books together that have fallen apart if they have to).

But it has to be done. I have been in school libraries that had not been weeded in so long that the books on space read “Some day, man will land on the moon”, 35 years after that giant step for mankind occurred.  And I have encountered the same set of monster movie books, the Monsters books from Crestwood House, first published in the 1970s, multiple times: as a kid discovering monster movies for the first time, a librarian wavering on whether to keep the books or weed them, and now as the mom of a Monster Kid.

I was actually very surprised to find the Crestwood House books on the shelf both at my local public library and the school library. I’m not sure how he actually discovered them, as I did not introduce them to him, they were in library bindings (so the covers weren’t visible), and his class was encouraged to choose from more “age-appropriate” books. The school librarian even called me to check if it was okay for him to check the books out. And for two years, he has checked them out, over and over.

Today I got an email from the librarian. She wrote that she had weeded the nonfiction extensively this summer, and the Crestwood House Monsters books did not make the cut. They have been pulled from the collection. “Since he enjoyed them so much, do you think he would like to have them”?

Oh yes.

That was quite possibly the fastest thank you note my child has ever produced.

Libraries have to make room for new books and knowledge by discarding inaccurate and damaged materials, but bless our school librarian for really paying attention to my son’s unusual interests.

These books that are probably as old as I am? They have a new life ahead of them, with someone who will treasure every torn, worn page.