Collection Policy: English
1. Introduction
The Library supports the instructional and research needs of faculty and students, both
graduate and undergraduate, working within the Department of English, which offers
courses leading to the B.A., B.A.(Honours) and M.A. degrees, and to the M.A. in English
(Specialization in Women's Studies). Undergraduate instruction is offered in literary
history, criticism and theory, creative writing, English, Canadian and American
literature, some Commonwealth literature and children's literature. Emphasis is on
areas supporting the graduate program, namely Renaissance literature, especially
Milton, seventeenth century literature, British Romantic literature and Canadian
literature. The Department also offers courses in technical writing and in writing and
communication skills. The Chancellor Paterson Library is the main location for the
English language and literature collections. Holdings include the literary resources of
the Rare Books and Special Collections, as well as those of the Regional Collection for
local authors. Some materials relating to a limited number of Canadian writers are
located in the archives. Tow microform collections of significance in the Library are the
Early English Books series I (Pollard and Redgrave, 1475-1640) which comprehensively
documents the English Renaissance, and the Pre-1900 monographic collection of the
Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions (CIHM) which contains many
literary titles. The Education Library holds primary and secondary material in the area
of children's literature as well.
2. History of the Collection
The English language and literature is well-established. The Master of Arts degree in
English became available in 1974, with graduate courses offered in English Renaissance
literature and American literature. Graduate courses in Canadian literature becam
available shortly thereafter. Children's literature was first offered in the mid-1970s; by
the early 1990s interest in this topic was such that courses were developed in Canadian
children's literature and contemporary children's literature as well. Canadian Indian
literature was first offered in the mid-1980s, and continues today as the literature of
Canada's First Nations. Dramatic Studies was dropped at this time, and courses in
modern British poetry and modern drama were replaced by period studies in modern
British literature (poetry, prose, and drama). In 1992 Images of Women in Literature
was created as a part of the Department's core program to offer support to Women's
Studies. The course continues today as Women and the Literary Tradition. The old
canon has now begun to make room for the new literatures of the English speaking
world, new theoretical studies, feminist studies and courses in composition and rhetoric.
3. Languages
Acquisitions include primarily publications written in English. Materials in languages
other than English, usually French or German, are purchased only under extraordinary
circumstances.
4. Chronological Guidelines
The major focus is on current publications. Some retrospective purchasing may occur
where gaps in the collection exist. Collecting activity covers all periods of English
literature.
5. Geographical Guidelines
Collecting activity emphasizes literature by British, American, and English-Canadian
authors. The Library acquires primarily from Canada, the United States and the United
Kingdom.
6. Types of Material
a) Physical. The preferred format is print. Microfiche or microfilm and items in
electronic media such as computer disk and CD-ROM are also purchased when relevant.
b) Publication format (monographs, journals, conference proceedings). The major
focus is on monographs and journals. Selection of reference materials, specifically
handbooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, directories, indexes and
abstracts is shared with Reference and Information Services, The Chancellor Paterson
Library.
7. Subject Areas/Levels
(4 levels: basic, initial study, advanced study, research)
The subject organization below generally follows that of James L. Harner's Literary
Research Guide, MLA, 1993, 2nd edition.
#
Subjects
Current
Level
Target Level
Advanced
Not currently
collected
ENGLISH LITERATURE
1
Old English Literture/Anglo-Saxon literature
500-1500
#
Subjects
Current
Level
Target Level
2
Middle English/Medieval Literature 1100-1500
Chaucer
Advanced
Advanced
3
Sixteenth Century/Renaissance Literature 15001660
Advanced
Advanced
4
Burton, Donne, Milton, Marvell, Spenser,
Shakespeare, Brown
Advanced
Advanced
5
Restoration and eighteenth Century Literature
1660-1800
Advanced
Initial
6
Dryden, Pope, Swift, Defoe, Richardson,
Smollett,Fielding, Sterne
Advanced
Initial
7
Nineteenth Century/Romantic and Victorian
Literature 1800-1900
Advanced
Advanced
8
Romantic movement
Advanced
Advanced
9
Victorian period
Advanced
Advanced
10
Austen, Scott, C. Bronte, Thackeray,
Dickens,Eliot, Gissing, Hardy
Advanced
Advanced
11
Twentieth Century Literature 1900 –
Advanced
Advanced
12 Conrad, Woolf, Lawrence, Joyce
Advanced
Advanced
13 Modernism
Advanced
Advanced
AMERICAN LITERATURE
#
Subjects
14 Regional Literature
Current
Level
Target Level
Basic
Initial
15
Ethnic and Minority Literatures Afro-American
Literature
Initial
Advanced
16
Early American Literature Colonial and
Revolutionary Period 1600-1800
Basic
Basic
17
Nineteenth Century Literature
Initial
Advanced
Advanced
Advanced
Initial
Advanced
21 African Literature
Basic
Initial
22 Australian Literature
Basic
Initial
23 Caribbean-Area Literatures in English
Basic
Initial
Advanced
Advanced
18 Twentieth Century Literature
CANADIAN LITERATURE
19 Canadian Literature in English Research
20 Literature of Canada’s First Nations
OTHER LITERATURES IN ENGLISH
LITERATURE RELATED TOPICS AND SOURCES
24 Bibliography and textual criticism
Current
Level
Target Level
Advanced
Advanced
26 Communication skills
Initial
Initial
27 Composition and rhetoric
Initial
Initial
28 Linguistics and literature
Initial
Advanced
Advanced
Advanced
30 Poscolonialism
Initial
Advanced
31 Postmodernism
Initial
Advanced
Advanced
Advanced
#
Subjects
25 Children’s literature
29 Literary criticism and theory
32 Women’s literature
8. Interdisciplinary Activities
The collection supports unique courses relating to the study of English literature offered
by other departments, namely Women's Studies, Religious Studies and Indigenous
Learning.
9. Strengths/Weaknesses
The Chancellor Paterson Library has a solid collection of materials in support of the
Master's Program in English. Holdings in the area of Canadian literature are particularly
strong since, until recently, an effort was made to collect everything in the field.
Holdings in children's literature are substantial, as are those in feminist literature.
Materials relating to composition and rhetoric and literary criticism are now actively
collected. The collection is weak in the areas of other literatures in English, specifically
African, Australian and Caribbean-area literatures. The journal collection in the area of
English Literatures is adequate for the courses taught.
10.
Thunder Bay and Regional Resources
The collection of the Thunder Bay Public Library provides some support at the
undergraduate level, particularly in the area of fiction.
11.
Internet Resources
The Library maintains links to literary resources on the Internet at its website.
12.
Liaison:
The Department of English is responsible for selecting appropriate library resources. A
library representative from the Department of English liaises with a designated
Collections Development Librarian with respect to the Department's library budget, the
acquisition process and cancellation projects. It is the responsibility of the Collections
Development Librarian to ensure that relevant information regarding new publications
is forwarded to the Department's library representative for consideration.
March 1999
____________________
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Library Representative
Collection Development Librarian
Department of English
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Date
Date