Journalism

Collection Development Policy

Paul Piper, Librarian

1. Applicable LC Classes:

Call No.	Subject Heading
PN 4699-5650	Journalism

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2. Academic Departments, Programs, etc.:

Journalism; some overlap with Communication.

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3. Collection Levels:

Call No.	Subject Heading	Present	Desired
PN 4699-5650	Journalism	3b	3b

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4. Scope:

	Present	Desired
Geographic: U.S. - centric	more international
Language:	Primarily English	Primarily English
Chronological limitations:	None	None

5. Formats collected/Non-Subject Parameters:

Explanatory Notes: Videos are emphasized, as are, of course, books. The collection benefits enormously from ProQuest.

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6. System Coordination and Resource Sharing:

Overlap with Communication

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7. Electronic Databases:

ProQuest and Global Newsbank; most others are of secondary significance.

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8. Notable Features:
None.

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9. Narrative Statement:

The Journalism collection is a stable, solid collection that remains up-to-date. The Reference collection is not huge, but accurately represents what is available. The book collection substantially overlaps with Communication, particularly in the area of media and media literacy. There is also overlap with particular medias (such as television and Internet) which are spread throughout the Ps and PNs, as well as the Ts. There is also overlap with visual design, primarily in the NKs, as well as public relations, primarily in the HDs. Mutual purchase in all these areas can’t help but benefit additional subject collections, as well as our collection at large. As subjects range more frequently into inter-disciplinary concerns, this trend can only increase.

The current budget is suitable to support the curriculum at the current level. Strengths are: local journalism; continued emphasis on current topics, such as war journalism; media literacy; and the relationship between media and politics. Weaknesses include coverage of the foreign press, which is an ongoing development plan. The department is planning to add a visual journalism emphasis in the near future. This addition will need to be integrated into the collection development plan.

The primary database for Journalism is ProQuest. This database provides not only the key academic, professional and trade publications in the field, but also meets many of the broad-based student research requirements, as well as providing a substantial number of full-text newspapers. It has truly been a blessing for Journalism students. Newspapers, both online and in print or microfilm, are extremely important to this discipline. This includes specialized collections such as The Underground Newspaper Collection, and standards such as the New York Times and the Seattle Times. Global NewsBank has added a sorely missing international perspective to news coverage and analysis. It is safe to say almost all our other indexes and databases are of potential use to Journalism students, as their projects range over all subject areas.