Sociology

Collection Development Policy Guidelines

1. General Scope
   
   
1. Audience
   

   Dartmouth’s Sociology Department awards an undergraduate major and two specialized minors: “Social Inequalities” and “Markets, Management & the Economy.”  Sociology offers around forty courses each year, incorporating social theory as well as both qualitative and quantitative methodology, and exploring issues of identity and community, social psychology, social movements & political/economic sociology. The Department also sponsors a foreign exchange program with the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.  Many courses are cross-listed with African & African American Studies (AAAS), Latin American, Latino, & Caribbean Studies (LALACS), or Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies (WGSS).  There are also faculty ties to campus institutes such as the Institute for Security, Technology, and Society (ISTS).
   
   

2. Boundaries
   

   Core sociology materials are located in Baker-Berry Library, falling primarily in the Library of Congress classifications HM through HV.  Earlier titles classed in the Dewey 300s are shelved in off-site storage. There is substantial overlap both within Baker-Berry (e.g., social psychology and some small group theory may class in BF; aspects of minority or ethnic relations may class in E; sociolinguistics may class in P; etc.) and with other Dartmouth College libraries (e.g., medical sociology may be housed at Dana). Library materials required to support instruction in these courses are purchased without regard for classification and consequent location.

   Other than student theses, Rauner Library has no particular collection focus in the discipline.
   
   
3. Partnerships
   

   Dartmouth currently has no collaborative collection program in place with any of our partners.  Consortial pricing through CRL, NERL, and WALDO has facilitated our purchase of many online resources.  Dartmouth College's membership in Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) provides access to its extensive data archive.

2. Specific Delimitations to collecting in this subject area
   
   
1. Languages
   Our collections focus on English-language materials, with additional materials in major European languages.
   
   
2. Geographical Areas (if applicable)
   

   Global coverage, with a curricular emphasis on United States society.

3. Types of Materials Collected
   

   Monographs and scholarly journals are collected most intensively, with a strong interest in documentary film.  Also desirable are newspapers, magazines, government and NGO documents, statistical compilations, as well as full-text and bibliographic reference resources such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, and indexing services.

4. Format of Materials Collected
   

   Print and remotely-hosted digital material are the predominant formats.  Where available, electronic journals are desired so long as that format does not limit full use of the content, and there is reliable perpetual access.  We select an increasing number of electronic books, but prefer print when the content is difficult to navigate as a digital file.  Preferred physical format for audio-visual material is DVD.  While not excluded entirely, we avoid microform and VHS unless no other option is available.  At this time, we are unable to purchase digital media for local hosting.

5. Collective Collections
   

   We are fortunate to have access to several key doctoral-level collections through our Borrow Direct service, and the wider OCLC network through Interlibrary Loan.  The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) is particularly valuable for its collection of newspapers.

3. Revision History
   • revised August 2016, Amy Witzel
   • Last revised June 2001 (Amy Witzel)
   • Current selector: Amy L. Witzel