Grooming

Great Grooming for Girls
Smith
1993

For the last 10 years, the only time I have heard “grooming” used is in the exploitive context. I am thinking this title, for a teen beauty book, might cause a few second thoughts or glances. Of all the collections in a library, I believe teen sections need to be the most ruthless when it comes to weeding. If it is older than the teen, it’s a candidate for weeding. (Please don’t write us to say there are exceptions. Of course there are. This book isn’t an exception.)

Circulation numbers don’t really tell the full story with teen titles. I think so much more gets browsed rather than checked out. Weeding teen collections needs to be more nuanced.

Anything that deals with beauty or body image should be under a microscope for weeding. I don’t think there is a woman alive that doesn’t struggle with some aspect of their appearance. Anything that could feed into that anxiety should be considered for weeding.

Aside from my opinion about body image, make up, and fashion changes over the years, just ask any woman over 50 how they looked in the 1980s.

Weed this title and don’t look back.

Mary