Deaccession Library
The Public Library of Public Library Deaccession is a physical library and online database that documents and repurposes information about five thousand books deaccessioned from American public libraries between 2005 and 2007. The titles in the database were recorded by the artist over six years of cross-country travel to thirty U.S. states.
Deaccessioning, or weeding, is a vital process that allows librarians to replace outdated, inaccurate, unpopular and/or physically damaged books with newer, more pertinent materials. The purpose of the Library is to highlight the obscure, trivial and misleading so as to better understand the relevant, the beautiful and the true.
The Library's catalog represents the only known large-scale public record of books passing out of currency in American public libraries. The 5,000 titles in the database were recorded by hand over 6 years of cross-country travel to 30 U.S. states.