Philosophy Collection

I. Collection Description

Purpose:

To support instruction and research in every field and period of philosophy, and related fields.

History of Collection:

Works on philosophy have always been included in the University of Illinois Library. Until the early 1960s, the responsibility for philosophical collections was lodged in the Education, Philosophy and Psychology Library. When that location became a library for the behavioral sciences, responsibility for philosophy was transferred to the History and Philosophy Library. Expenditures in the early years of the century were on the order of $150 annually, exclusive of periodicals. Today $17,000 is expended annually.

Estimate of Holdings:

200,000 volumes located in the Bookstacks and the History and Philosophy Library.

State, Regional and National Importance:

The philosophy collections in the University Library are rich in editions of the works of Western philosophers (although there are notable lacunae in publications prior to 1850 and from 1930 through the 1950s) and are an important resource in our state. Nationally, collections in the older research libraries are more extensive and are heavily relied on.

Unit Responsible for Collecting:

The History and Philosophy Library.

Location of Materials:

A basic, primarily contemporary, collection of 7,000 volumes is located in the History and Philosophy Library along with current issues of some 200 periodicals. The bulk of the collection is in the Bookstacks. Logic, especially mathematical logic, is found primarily in the Mathematics Library. A good working collection is located in the Undergraduate Library.

Citations of Works Describing the Collection:

None available.

II. General Collection Guidelines

Languages:

Standard statement.

Chronological Guidelines:

No restrictions.

Geographical Guidelines:

No restrictions.

Treatment of Subject:

Standard statement. All treatments of philosophical literature are collected, including original and critical editions of the works of philosophers; the critical and biographical literature, the bibliography and history of philosophy and its subdivisions, works on the applications of philosophical concepts and systems, etc. Some "popular" philosophy is also collected, but-scholarly works are emphasized.

Types of Materials:

Standard statement.

Date of Publication:

Standard statement.

Place of Publication:

No restrictions.

III. Collection Responsibility by Subject Subdivisions with Qualifications, Levels of Collecting Intensity, and Assignments

Below is a table that lists specific subject subdivisions within the collection. Each row in the table lists a specific subject subdivision, followed by three columns noting: Collection Strength, Primary Assignments and Secondary Assignments. The Existing Collecting Strength column notes how well the existing collection covers that topic on a 1 to 5 scale with 5 being very strong. The Primary Assignments column lists departmental libraries that have the greatest collection intensity of subject materials, respectively. In the case of 2 or more libraries listed, the collection intensity is comparable. The Secondary Assignments column list departmental libraries where additional materials may be found.

Philosophy Collection
SUBJECT SUBDIVISIONS EXISTING STRENGTH PRIMARY ASSIGNMENTS SECONDARY ASSIGNMENTS
METAPHYSICS 3 Philosophy
ONTOLOGY 3 Philosophy
EPISTEMOLOGY 3 Philosophy
ESTHEICS 3 Philosophy / Art
PHILOSOPHICAL SYSTEMS AND DOCTRINES (i.e., Neoplatonism, phenomenology, etc.) 3 Philosophy
LOGIC 4 Philosophy
Symbolic logic 4 Mathematics Philosophy
ETHICS 4 Philosophy
HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY:
Oriental philosophy 3 Philosophy
Ancient philosophy 4 Classics Philosophy
Modern Western philosophy 3 Philosophy
PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE 4 Philosophy
PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION 3 Philosophy Religious Studies
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE 4 Linguistics Philosophy

 

Version Date: November 2005