Description
The collection is maintained primarily by the Education & Social Science Library.
To support instructional and research programs of the Department of Psychology through, and beyond, the doctoral level. The collection of psychology materials, totaling about 110,000 volumes, is generally considered to be the finest in the state and region. The Education and Social Science Library houses approximately 30,000 volumes of psychology literature, which include current monographs (primarily those published since 1960) and the last ten years of most serial runs. Foreign language monographs, older volumes of serials, and infrequently used English language monographs are located in the Bookstacks.
Revised November 2006
Statements
I. Collection Description
Purpose:
To support instructional and research programs of the Department of Psychology through, and beyond, the doctoral level. Located administratively within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Department is organized into seven divisions: Biological, Clinical, Developmental, Experimental, Personality and Social Ecology, Quantitative, and Social, Organizational and Individual Differences. The Department shares interdisciplinary programs with several other institutes, laboratories, and departments on campus. (Computer Sciences, Education, Labor and Industrial Relations, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, and Neural and Behavioral Biology are among these). It is consistently ranked among the top five graduate psychology programs in the nation.
History of Collection:
Formal acquisition of psychology materials began in the late nineteenth century. A separate collection did not exist until 1912 when the Philosophy, Psychology, and Education Library was formed to collect and house materials in those disciplines. This arrangement continued until 1964-65 when political science, social work, and sociology were merged with education and psychology to create the Education and Social Science Library.
Estimate of Holdings:
110,000 volumes.
State, Regional and National Importance:
The collection of psychology materials is generally considered to be the finest in the state and region.
Unit Responsible for Collecting:
The Education and Social Science Library collects most psychological literature, however, libraries serving disciplines listed in Section I.A. also collect pertinent materials.
Location of Materials:
The Education and Social Science Library houses approximately 30,000 volumes of psychology literature, which include current monographs (primarily those published since 1960) and the last ten years of most serial runs. Foreign language monographs, older volumes of serials, and infrequently used English language monographs are located in the Bookstacks.
In addition, the Susan Stout Memorial Library houses a noncirculating collection of approximately 80 core psychology journals and a small collection of monographs.
Citations of Works Describing the Collection:
Downs, p. 193.
II. General Collection Guidelines
Languages:
Standard statement. The writings of major psychologists are acquired in the original language.
Chronological Guidelines:
No restrictions.
Geographical Guidelines:
No restrictions. The primary focus of the collection is on works concerning the U.S. and U.K., with a secondary focus on Western Europe and the U.S.S.R. Materials focusing on Japan, the Middle East, Scandinavia, South America, and Southeast Asia are acquired selectively.
Treatment of Subject:
Standard statement. In addition, an effort is made to collect publications directly associated with Psychology and its related subjects, with a strong emphasis on the theory and philosophy of psychology as a science as well as its application to social and personal problems. Of specific interest are biological psychology, clinical psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, engineering psychology, experimental psychology, personality, psychological measurement, and social psychology.
Works on industrial, organizational, and personnel psychology, especially those applying psychological theory, methods, and research to business and industrial problems and the behavior of individuals in organizations, are within the purview of the psychology collection. The Commerce and Labor & Industrial Relations Libraries also collect related material appropriate to their areas of interest.
Because of the close relationship of biological and physiological psychology with biology, some relevant biological psychology materials are collected by the Biology Library. Materials that have a psychological focus, rather than a biological one, are collected for psychology. There is also an overlapping responsibility with linguistics. Psychology collects materials with a clear psychological focus in the areas of cognitive linguistics and psycholinguistics.
Educational psychology is treated in the Education statement. Parapsychology and occult sciences are treated in the Mandeville statement.
Types of Materials:
Standard statement.
Date of Publication:
Standard statement.
Place of Publication:
No restrictions. Publications of western countries, especially the U.S. and U.K. predominate.
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.
| Psychology Collection | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| SUBJECT SUBDIVISIONS | EXISTING STRENGTH | PRIMARY ASSIGNMENTS | SECONDARY ASSIGNMENTS |
| Applied psychology (including industrial, organizational, and personnel psychology) | 3 | Psychology | Labor |
| Clinical psychology | 3 | Psychology | |
| Cognitive psychology | 2 | Psychology | |
| Counseling psychology | 2 | Psychology | |
| Developmental psychology | 3 | Psychology | |
| General psychology (including history, theory and philosophy, teaching, and professional issues) | 4 | Psychology | |
| Experimental psychology, Animal | 3 | Psychology | |
| Experimental psychology, Human | 3 | Psychology | |
| Personality | 4 | Psychology | |
| Physiological psychology | 2 | Psychology | Biology |
| Psychological disorders | 2 | Psychology | |
| Psycholinguistics | 2 | Psychology | Linguistics |
| Psychometrics | 3 | Psychology | Mathematics |
| Social psychology | 4 | Psychology | |
Version Date: November 2006