Why We Weed: Computers edition

Libraries are excellent about doing more with less. We know how to be frugal and reuse, recycle, reduce! And thank goodness for donations from the community.

However, not all donations are appropriate to add to the library's collection. Medical books from 1980 for example, should be placed directly in the recycle bin.

The same can be said for outdated technology.

When weeding a book, it's easy to determine the condition. You just flip through the pages and look for tears, missing pages, water damage, smell.

Evaluating a computer or printer is not as easy. You have to plug it in and turn it on. And use it.

Is the computer used only as a last resort? Is it slow? Does it crash often? Can you have more than 1 program running at a time? How old is it?

I am giving you permission to discard your donated Windows98 machines.

Go ahead and say thanks but no thanks for dot matrix printers.

"But," I've had Librarians say, "this can be used for a children's computer. It has games like Magic School Bus." Played on CD-ROM or (gasp) possibly even floppy discs.
My answer:  If the computer is three times as old as the little kiddo you think will play on it, you're going to be disappointed. Sure it was cool to play on the first word processor typewriters, but I'm not going to seek one out today. Kids won't want to play the pixelated, slow, and dated games that play on WindowsME or 98. There are lots of great online sites and games that will hold their attention and suit their needs better.

So, here is a list of computers to weed:
Windows XP, WindowsME, Windows98 or older
Computer  that takes 10 to boot and another 10 to load
Dot Matrix Printers
Printers that constantly Jam.

And remember, having more computers isn't always better, if no one wants to use them. It is better to have 3 or 4 Windows 7 or Windows 10 computers that 8 outdated computers that sit unused.