Thank you to everyone who submitted entries, cast their votes, or just enjoyed the MUSTIES contest from the stands. It was an awesome 6th year of our NEKLS weeding contest!
A few reactions we heard along the way:
- “These were so good!”
- “I’m honestly intrigued by #10, A Diabolical Dictionary of Education. It looks funny.”
- “Thanks for a chance to play!”
- “Hilarious!”
- “This is fun! Thank you for doing it.”
News of our contest made it far outside of our region—Oregon State University Librarians reportedly shared/liked/loved the submissions on their internal Slack channel.
It was a tight competition, but our first-place finisher ultimately pulled ahead. Scoring worked as follows: 3 points for a first-place vote, 2 for second, and 1 for third.
With 38 total points and in first place this year:
Weeding Library Collections
Natalie Moreland, School Librarian, Logan Elementary
With 17 total points and in second place this year:
The Happy Lion’s Quest
Jenny Wirt, Youth Services Librarian, Atchison Public Library
With 15 total points and in third place this year:
Five Lessons
Michelle Larson, Library Director, Horton Public Library
Here’s the submissions again if you missed them: 2025 MUSTIE Submissions. Finally, below is how the scoring broke down—I wish I could award you all prizes for your efforts—I’ll be in contact with the top three to get them their gift cards!
Looking ahead to 2026, NEKLS is always here to support your collection development work—whether that’s weeding, inventory, or policy updates. Happy holidays, and thanks for playing.