SOCIAL SCIENCES LIBRARY
COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY
CONTEMPORARY TOPICS
SUBJECT SPECIALISTS AND PRINCIPAL SELECTORS:
Ashley Robinson
Gateway Librarian
E102J Paterno Library
814-865-5536
axr23@psu.edu
Ellysa Stern Cahoy
Information Literacy Librarian
308 Pattee Library (Tower)
814-865-9696
esc10@psu.edu
Revised: 4/04 (ESC & AXR)
PURPOSE AND PROGRAMMATIC INFORMATION
The Contemporary Topics fund focuses on purchasing materials that support the research
needs of undergraduate students enrolled in General Education courses, with particular
attention to research assignments prescribed by Rhetoric and Composition (ENGL 015)
and Effective Speech (CAS 100). ENGL 015 and CAS 100 are required undergraduate
courses, and are currently offered at 19 Penn State campuses and through the World
Campus/Distance Education. At the University Park campus, over 75 sections of CAS
100 and 95 sections of ENGL 015 are offered each semester, serving a combined total of
approximately 4700 undergraduate students during each academic session. ENGL 015
and CAS 100 assignments typically require students to explore contemporary topics,
including but not limited to, those related to current events, social issues, "hot" topics,
local interest and public debate, rhetoric, and other subjects that support introductory
English and Public Speaking courses and general education requirements.
SCOPE OF THE COLLECTION
The Contemporary Topics collection is less identifiable by subject and/or location than
those of traditional subject areas, as its focus constantly changes with current events and
with topics of current interest to students beginning their academic lives. Purchases
typically are dispersed throughout the collection. Electronic selections are part of the
Libraries’ database collection. The task of identifying topics for development generally
is guided by the selectors but is, on occasion, informed by other faculty as well as staff
working at service desks. Some selections may be seen as adding to popular culture
holdings, becoming evidence of passing trends and even fads as time passes and may be
viewed as commentary on historical events and the changing philosophy and sociology of
our society.
I. Materials collected
A. Languages Collected. Emphasis is placed on English language materials.
B. Geographical Limits. No region or country is excluded, but primary focus is on
contemporary topics of interest and pertaining to U.S. audiences.
C. Chronological Limits. The collection is developed with a strong emphasis on current
issues and events. Many titles supported by this fund are published just-in-time to
address popular interest as events unfold in our country and the greater world.
D. Major Publishers
 Greenhaven Press (Gale Group)
 CQ Press
 Facts on File
 ABC-CLIO
E. Reference Works. Collect encyclopedias, dictionaries and biographical works.
Seminal series titles in high demand (such as Greenhaven Press’ Opposing
Viewpoints are also developed as reference collections.) Few indexes, abstracts or
subject bibliographies in print format are selected.
F. Periodicals. Contemporary Topics is responsible for funding a select number of
periodical subscriptions, including Wired, Vegetarian Times, and Body & Soul, but
has an interest in additional titles pertinent to this fund, such as Time, Newsweek, and
the paper version of CQ Researcher. The O’Toole collection of current periodicals
for leisure reading (housed in the Newspapers & Microforms Library) contains a
number of titles relevant to this fund.
G. Government and International Organization Publications. A wide variety of
government documents and reports are produced on various controversial issues.
Agencies issuing such documents and reports include:
 CDC (Center for Disease Control)
 EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)
 FDA Food and Drug Administration
 FTC (Federal Trade Commission)
 DOE (Department of Education)
 HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development
Additional GPO titles of interest to students researching Contemporary Topics
include:
 Statistical Abstract of the U.S.
 Congressional Reports & Hearings
 Background Notes
 Country Studies
Publications from states, particularly Pennsylvania, are also of interest.
United Nations (U.N.), European Union (EU) and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) government documents highlighting
international/global issues are relevant to this fund.
H. Law/Legal Materials. The law school for the Pennsylvania State University is
located at Dickinson University, Carlisle, PA. Students researching contemporary
topics use legal resources, particularly in looking up legislation relevant to a specific
social issue. Case law and statutory law, primarily in U.S. federal and Pennsylvania
law, are core resources.
I. Video/DVD collections. Videos addressing controversial issues are collected, with a
focus on popular series such as PBS’ FrontLine.
J. Generally Excluded
 Textbooks
 Reprints of articles or other materials, especially if contained in journals owned
 Dissertations
 Controversial issues series aimed at younger (K-8) audiences
II. Electronic Resources
While the Contemporary Topics fund does not yet fund any specific electronic resources,
selectors work with other sections in the identification and selection of on-line resources
useful to and suitable for undergraduate study. Selectors have studied and evaluated
controversial issues databases of relevance, including Facts.com and Gales’ Opposing
Viewpoints Online, with an eye toward possible future subscription.
A. Core Resources
 CQ Researcher
 Encyclopedia Britannica
III.




ProQuest Direct
Readex Newsbank (America’s
Newspapers)
Related Collections
News and Microforms collections of newspapers in print, microformat, and digital
format (e.g. The New York Times Digital Archive)
The Historical Collegian Archive
COORDINATING AND COOPERATIVE EFFORTS
I. Related Funds:
 SOCREF
 AVSREF
 SOCSCGRP—AV & MONO
 DOCS
 INTL
 HIST











ARTHUREF
COMM
EDUC
ENGSH
FILM
GLBS
HELTH
BEHSCI
POLSC
SOCIO
SPECH
II. Campus Locations. 20 Penn State campuses (including the Worlds Campus) have
undergraduate students enrolled in ENGL 015 and CAS 100. Some duplication of key
resources will be necessary to serve the large number of students enrolled in these
courses, as well as other students researching contemporary topics.
IV. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Many sources are consulted for collection development, including local and national
newspapers' book sections, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal and a
myriad of publications and other sources, print and on-line, reporting on or detailing
current topics and events. Note is also made of student requests for information as well as
recurring topics that are proposed during instruction sessions.