‘Weeding’ Triggers ‘Librarygate’ at Berkeley Public Library

For gardeners, weeding can be a sometimes-unpleasant, but necessary task, and it’s the same for librarians. When they take books out of circulation, it’s referred to as ‘weeding’. They’ll remove books from the shelves that people have lost interest in and replace them with newer books. But last summer, Berkeley residents decided that the ‘weeding’ had gone too far at their beloved Berkeley Public Library, prompting them to protest against head librarian Jeff Scott, who was forced to resign. The incident became known as ‘Librarygate’.