How much is too much?

That's the question under consideration this week. According to some of the readings out there on the topic, the recommendation is 20 books per student in the library.  For a typical classroom that's somewhere between 500 and 600 books.  Since I've already hit the 500 mark on the database using just books I've brought into the classroom -- the unleveled books from my former genre library -- I'm starting to question how many books are "enough".Admittedly, too much of what is left in the class library is from the picture book genre.  And I have lots of lower leveled books brought over from when I taught a lower grade so clearly there needs to be a weeding out. That's the tough part I think.  Never one to throw out something that might prove useful in the future, it is difficult to decide what books stay and what books go.Also, the space issue is becoming critical.  The classroom seems jammed with "stuff" these days -- where did all this come from?It is time to take a more critical look at what book levels are in the library and to be ensure that genres are represented. And then possibly the weeding out can begin - again.