The Carl A. Pescosolido Library provides a welcoming, inclusive, and supportive environment for all members of The Governor’s Academy community to pursue their personal and academic interests through reading and research. By providing support, a diverse range of resources, and collaborating with faculty we strive to empower our community to become:
Skilled, discriminating and ethical users of information
Discriminating and ethical producers of information
Critical thinkers
Collaborators
Lifelong readers and learners
The Pescosolido Library collection aims to:
Support The Academy’s curricular needs
Provide the community with resources to encourage personal reading and the pursuit of lifelong learning
Support the community’s research and development requirements
Provide a balanced collection with diverse and differing points of view, as well as diverse formats to meet learning needs
It is the general policy of The Pescosolido Library to accept donations from the community. Materials will be considered in relation to our collection criteria listed in the selection policy, and others including condition and duplications. There is no guarantee that materials donated will be added to the collection, nor that added materials will remain in the collection indefinitely. Deaccessioned items will not be returned to the donors; whenever appropriate and possible, items are donated.
Materials and resources in the library are selected to support the curriculum and the personal needs of our community in accordance with our selection policy. Objections to library materials may occur, and these concerns may be addressed informally or formally to the Director of Library Services or the Academic Dean who will review the objection in conjunction with appropriate members of the Academy’s administration.
A Request for Reconsideration Form is available upon request for members of The Academy community.
The responsibility for the selection of library materials lies with the library faculty and staff, and acquisition decisions are made based on reviews, prior subject and author knowledge, recommendations, and other criteria including but not limited to:
Accordance with curriculum or research needs
Quality
Cost
Currency
Diversity of subject and author
Format
Language
Appropriateness
It is the general policy of the library to purchase community requests and recommendations within reason as they meet the above criteria.
It is the policy of Pescosolido Library to conduct a regular inventory of the school library collection and equipment. Inventory and other area-specific reviews will be used to determine losses and remove damaged or worn materials which can then be considered for replacement. They can also be used to deselect and remove materials that are no longer relevant to the curriculum, contain out-of-date information, have not circulated in a set number of years, or have unnecessary duplicates. It is our goal to regularly review all areas of the library.
Due to the heat and humidity in the library, condition plays a large role in our deaccession procedures. When the condition of a book is deemed too poor to remain on the shelf, but circulation statistics do not merit immediate replacement, it is our general policy to remove the book. If/when a patron requests the book, or the curriculum changes and the title becomes more relevant, a new copy will be purchased.
Deaccessioned materials judged to be in appropriate condition will be donated whenever possible.