Search Site | Library Home
 
Articles | Books & more | Help | Library Information  

Anthropology

Collection Development Policy
Jeanne Armstrong, Librarian

  1. Applicable LC Classes:

    2. Call No. Subject Heading
    GN 1-48.999 Anthropology
    GN 49-298 Physical Anthropology
    GN 301-673 Ethnology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
    GN 700-890 Prehistoric Archaeology
    GR Folklore
    GT Manners and Customs (General)

  2. Academic Departments, Programs, etc.:

    3. Anthropology, Sociology, History, East Asian Studies, American Cultural Studies and Liberal Studies.

  3. Collection Levels:

    4. Call No. Subject Heading Present Desired
    GN 1-48.999 Anthropology 2b 3c
    GN 49-298 Physical Anthropology 2b 3c
    GN 301-673 Ethnology, Social and Cultural Anthropology 3b 3c
    GN 700-890 Prehistoric Archaeology 2b 3c
    GR Folklore 2b 3c
    GT Manners and Customs (General) 3b 3c

    3c is the level needed to support a master's program and this collection is considerably below that level.

  4. Scope:

    5. Geographic: Primarily materials published in the U.S. or UK although maatwerials published in other countries are relevant if budgeet would permit.

    Language: English is the primary language but Spanish and some Asian language materials would be collected if budget permitted.

    Chronological Limitations: The last 10 years are emphasized.

  5. Formats collected/Non-Subject Parameters:

    6. Mainly books, peridoicals and films.

  6. System Coordination and Resource Sharing:

    7. Some American Indian materials would be collected for history and some folk tales might be acquired for the children's collection.

  7. Electronic Databases:

    8. Anthropology Plus though some others are relevant.

  8. Notable Features:

    9. There is a significan Mongolian collection, which however is not especially useful for the anthropology curriculum.

  9. Narrative Statement:

    10. Purpose: To support teaching and research in the area of anthropology and archaeology at the undergraduate and graduate level. The Anthropology Department offers a masters degree. However some students who were undergraduate majors in anthopology have indicated that they chose not to continue as an anthropology graduate student at Western because the library collection is not adequate. Areas of specialization include cultural anthropology, archaeology, anthropological linguistics and physical/biological anthropology. Linguistic specializations include Mongolian, Chinese and Japanese. Cultural areas emphasized inlcude Mexico, Central America, Latin America, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Northwestern North America.

    Materials in this collection may also be used by History, Sociology, American Cultural Studies, East Asian Studies and Liberal Studies.

    General Collection Guidelines:

    Languages: English is the primary language of the collection. Materials in Spanish or Asian languages may be purchased when requested to support the curriculum.

    Chronological coverage: Primary emphasis is on current materials. However, significant earlier materials may be acquired when these are appropriate for a core collection.

    Geographical guidelines: Materials collected are not restricted by geographic coverage but are usually published in the United States, Great Britain or Europe. However, materials published in other regions of the world would be purchased when appropriate to support the curriculum.

    Treatment of subject: Text books and popular materials are generally not acquired due to limited availability of funds.

    Types of materials: Most materials acquired are books, periodicals and films. Films are used extensively in certain courses, especially the course on visual anthropology. Research level reference materials including specialized handbooks, dictionaries and encyclopedias are purchased. The library receives the Annual Review of Anthropology and has the Human Relations Area Files on microfiche until 1991. The library subscribes to 44 journal titles in anthropology and archaeology and the Anthropology Plus database. According to Ulrich's serials analysis, this represents 5.22% of the anthropology core and 2.13% of the archaeology core. Other relevant databases include Sociological Abstracts, Bibliography of Asian Studies Online, Ethnic Newswatch, PsychInfo and Contemporary Women's Issues.

    Date of Publication: Emphasis is on materials published during the most recent ten years. Retrospective purchasing of core titles may be necessary.

    Distinguishing characteristics: There are materials in the library acquired for East Asian Studies that would wupport the anthropology curriculum. There is an especially strong collection for Mongolia and adjacent regions. Much of the material acquired for American Indian Studies under the American Cultural Studies Program would be catalogued in the E75-99 which is assigned to history. Also materials that cover pre-Colombian American are assigned to history with the E51-73 range of call numbers. Other American ethnic groups, described as elements in the population are also classified with history such as E184 Various groups, e.g., E184.C2 Canadians in the USA, E184.K45 Khmers/Cambodians in the USA, E184.M5 Mexicans in the USA, E184.P85 Puerto Ricans in the USA. The GT call number range includes much material that was probably ordered for art, history or theatre and does not really support anthropology. For example, books on costume, fashion, tattoos and body piercing, food consumption and habits in America and festivals of the Renaissance or early America. The folklore collection is supplemented by folktale collections in the children's literature section. During 2004-2005, the Anthropology Department dissolved their library and many titles were added from the Bureau of Ethnographic Research and issues of journals that extended the library's coverage for several journal titles.

    Collection Assessment Process: Two lists were used to evaluate the anthropology collection: Books for College Libraries; a core collection of 50,000 titles published in 1988 gave an historical overview and Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 1992-1997 and 1998-2002 to cover more current titles. Overall the collection is fairly strong for the earlier periods. During the later period, it is obvious that due to budget constraints we had to focus on collecting for the curriculum and not acquiring works that would maintain a strong core collection since we are missing works such as Stonehenge: a new interpretation published in 1997; The archaeology of death and burial (1999); The Early Neolithic in Greece (2001); Kiowa, Apache and Comanche military societies (1999); Custodians of the sacred mountains; culture and society in the highlands of Bali (2002); and Social change in Melanesia (2000).

    GN 1-48.99 Anthropology: This area has 103 items published during the 1990s compared to 69 during the 1980s but has dropped to an estimated 58 items for the decade from 2000-2010. This estimate is based on doubling 29, the number of titles added from 2000-2005.

    GN 49-298 Physical Anthropology: This range has 98 items published during the 1990s compared to 81 items during the 1980s but has dropped to an estimated 66 items for the decade from 2000-2010. This estimate is based on doubling 33, the number of titles added from 2000-2005.

    GN 301-673 Ethnology, social and cultural anthropology: This area had 426 items published during the 1990s compared to 363 during the 1980s but has dropped to an estimated 208 items published from 2000-2010. This estimate is based on doubling 104, the number of titles added from 2000-2005.

    GN 700-890 Prehistoric archaeology: This range has 74 titles published during the 1990s down from 89 during the 1980s and further reduced to an estimated 56 titles published from 2000-2010. This estimate is based on doubling 28, the number of titles added from 2000-2005.

    GR Folklore: This range has 180 titles published during the 1990s down from 276 published during the 1980s and further reduced to an estimated 94 during 2000-2010. This estimate is based on doubling 74, the number of titles added from 2000-2005.

    GT Manners and Customs: This range has 190 titles published during the 1990s compared to 143 published during the 1980s. The estimate for 2000-2010 is 164 based on doubling 82, the number of titles added from 2000-2005. As mentioned earlier this call number range is not primarily anthropology, including titles that relate to art, theatre and other subjects.

    Budget: Overall if the non subscription budget keeps shrinking, we will not even sustain the estimated number of titles for the 2000-2010 decade and the added titles might remain at the amount acquired from 2000-2005. I have raised this concern at discussions on the Senate Library Committee and the Collection Development Committee. If the library can't support a core research collection for anthropology, the department may not meet accreditation requirements for their master's degree. The anthropology acquisition fund allocation is only 1.298% while the department accounts for 3.89% of all student credit hours campus wide and 2.49% of all FTEs. In 1993, there was $6,392.00 available for non-subscription items. This figure has steadily declined until it reached a seriously low figure of $865.00 during fiscal year 2005. If this decline continues, there will soon be no budget for other materials without seriously cutting journals and these are already at a level below what should be a core collection.

 Library Home Page Western Washington University Home