Discard and Disposal List Instructions for California State Document Depository Libraries

State depository libraries who wish to withdraw and discard tangible state depository documents, in accordance with the established retention and disposal policies, should follow these instructions.

Please create disposal lists of the documents you wish to withdraw. Disposal lists should be compiled in Microsoft Excel or another similar spreadsheet format and should be limited to five pages when printed, which is usually around 100 entries.

Each list should include the following information for each document you wish to withdraw:

• CalDoc call number (only if you use that classification system)
• Issuing agency
• Title of document
• Publication date or other date of issuance, or the enumeration/chronology for any serial issues being offered
• Notes on the materials being withdrawn, if necessary: any damage to the documents; if multiple copies are being withdrawn; if the withdrawn documents are photocopies of an original; etc.

If you are withdrawing a range of any given serial or series title, you don’t have to list each issue individually; one entry for each serial title is fine so long as a detailed description of the enumeration and/or chronology of the issues you’re withdrawing is included.

Once your disposal list is compiled, please send that list to Bill Riddle, Senior Librarian for California Documents, at bill.riddle@library.ca.gov. The staff of the Government Publications Section of the California State Library will review the list, approve the materials for withdrawal, and claim any needed titles for the State Library’s collection. We can usually complete that review within a few weeks.

After that, post the remainder of your disposal list to the CALDOC-L listserv to allow other state libraries to review your list and make any additional claims. Please allow at least two weeks for other depositories to complete their review.

If any of the listed documents go unclaimed after that review period, you may discard or recycle them. You may also donate them to any non-depository library that might be interested. Note that such depository materials are considered state property, and as such, they may not be donated to an individual, nor may they be sold (e.g. through a Foundation or a Friends group).

For those who need assistance in accessing the CALDOC-L listserv, here are the instructions for subscribing to that list:

• Send an e-mail message to listserv@listserv.csus.edu with the one-line message subscribe CALDOC-L <your real name here>. For example, Jenny Smith would send this one-line message: subscribe CALDOC-L Jenny Smith