Janney Elementary School
Library Collection Development Policy

The purpose of the Janney Library is to provide developmentally appropriate instructional and recreational materials to ensure that each student has the potential to develop to the best of his or her ability, mentally exploring the widest possible opportunities.  The collection should support the curriculum in all disciplines as well as provide a common body of knowledge.  The collection should provide a wide range of age appropriate materials in all genres, both fiction and nonfiction.

The Janney Library currently owns approximately 11,000 items, including 26 desktop computers and 16 laptop computers.  Circulating items include books, magazines, CDs, videos, teacher kits, and cassette tapes.
I.  Selection
    A.  Book purchase requests may be made by faculty, parents, or students.  The final purchase decision will
          be made by the library media specialist after consulting a variety of selection aids.
    B.  Selection of specific materials will be made considering the following criteria:
• Does the item support the curriculum?
• Is the material age/developmentally appropriate for the patrons?
• Is the material timely?  Will it be outdated quickly?
• Is the material accurate?  Is it written or edited by an authority on this subject?
• Is the scope of the material adequate?  Are there views not represented?
• Is the material visually pleasing and readable?  Are the illustrations supportive of the text?
• Are there user aids such as a bibliography, glossary, or index?
• Will the material be widely used?
• Are the themes, characters, genre of the material, particularly fiction attractive, interesting, inviting and comprehensible to our patrons?
II.  Deselection
    A. Deselection of books will be made considering the following criteria:
• Materials that are damaged beyond repair will be discarded
• Materials that are outdated or obsolete will be removed from the collection and discarded.
• Materials that are age or developmentally inappropriate will be removed from the collection and offered to other libraries within the DCPS where appropriate.
• Materials that are no longer needed to support the curriculum or student/faculty interests will be removed from the collection and discarded or offered to other libraries within the DCPS.
• Materials that have not circulated within the past five years will be periodically reviewed and assessed for their value within the collection.  Materials deemed unsuitable according to the above deselection criteria will be discarded or offered to other libraries within the DCPS.
    B.  Challenged materials
        Any patron or parent may challenge a selection by completing a "Request for Reconsideration of Media
        Materials" form.