Collection Development: Psychology and Communicative Disorders
I.
Program Description
The study of psychology or communicative disorders exposes students to the theories,
methods, findings, and issues of these two content areas. According to the College bulletin,
the curriculum and requirements are designed to achieve the following goals:
 “to expose students to psychology and communicative disorders as a liberal arts
discipline
 to support varying interests and goals of students
 to provide students with a firm basis for graduate study in psychology and speechlanguage pathology or audiology, and other related areas
 to acquire competency in quantitative and problem solving skills
 to think scientifically and creatively about human behavior
 to promote understanding of oneself and others”
Students majoring in either psychology or communicative disorders receive a Bachelor of Arts
degree. A minor in either area is also available. In conjunction with the education
department, students may take courses leading to Indiana licensing in social studies secondary
education.
II.
Interdisciplinary Relationships
As stated in the goals of the department, students are exposed to psychology and
communicative disorders in the liberal arts tradition. In psychology students study the theory
of behavior and mental processes, applying scientific methods to the gathering of empirical
evidence. Opportunities are available through supervised field work and internships to apply
this knowledge to real life situations. Coursework in communicative disorders also combines
the theoretical with the practical, including opportunities in clinical settings.
Since both psychology and communicative disorders can be thought of as a social science and
a biological science, choosing electives in other areas of the social sciences or biological
sciences adds to the breadth of knowledge gained from the major content areas.
III. Collection Description
A. Library of Congress Classification
Psychology materials are classified in BF with related material in HM 251-291(social
psychology) and RC 430-580 (psychiatry and psychopathology).
Materials related to communicative disorders are in a number of classifications: HV 23492990.7 (the deaf -social aspects); LB 1139.L3 (children-language development); LB 3454
(school health services, speech disorders, speech therapy);
LC 4616-4620 (mentally handicapped children.-language); LC 4704.85-4704.87 (learning
disabled children-language); LC 4708-4710 (dyslexic children); LC 4717-4719 (autistic
children); P 118-118.75 (language acquisition); P 215-240 (phonology-phonetics);
RC 387.5 (brain damage); RC 423-429 (speech and language disorders); RC 423 (general
works); RC 424 (stuttering); RC 424.7 (articulation disorders); RC 425 (aphasia);
RC 428 (study and teaching of speech therapy); RC 428.5 (speech therapy as a profession);
RC 429 (augmentative and alternative communication); RC 815-815.6 (deglutition disorders);
1
RF 460-547 (diseases of the throat); RF 89-285 (diseases of the ear); RF 285-320 (audiologyhearing disorders); RJ 463.I54 (pediatrics-deglutition disorders);
RJ 496 (pediatrics-diseases of the nervous system); QC 221-246 (acoustics);
QM 507 (anatomy of the ear); QP 306 (physiology-voices and speech, larynx); QP 460-471.2
(physiology of the ear); TK 7882.S65 (speech processing systems);
TK 7895.S65 (speech recognition systems)
B. Subject Treatment
Relevance to the current curriculum of the psychology and communicative disorders
department is the number one selection guideline with a focus in areas of present course
offerings at Saint Mary’s College. Collecting efforts are also aimed at maintaining a well
rounded collection for the undergraduate in all areas of psychology and communicative
disorders thus providing a basic collection as curricular and research interests change. As
such, collecting will focus on, but not be limited to: developmental psychology, cognitive
psychology, behavioral psychology, abnormal psychology, social psychology, clinical
psychology, personality, psychological aspects of individuals and groups (e.g. aging, adults,
children, families, etc.), works related to significant historic figures (e.g. Freud, Jung, etc.),
anatomy and physiology of speech and hearing, speech and language pathology, language
development, and audiology.
Popular self-help materials will not be collected.
C. Languages
English is the primary language of the collection.
D. Geographical Limits (subject content)
Emphasis is on the United States.
E. Chronological Coverage
There are no limitations.
F. Imprint Date
Preference is given to recent publications. Retrospective material will be collected as
appropriate.
IV. Selection and Assessment Tools
Recommendations from the faculty are encouraged and expected. It is assumed that expertise
in their respective fields will guide them in recommending titles for the library to purchase.
Reviews in professional/scholarly journals, publisher’s catalogs, conference attendance, and
association memberships also provide resources from which titles might be suggested. The
collection development librarian along with the other library faculty will also make
recommendations. In addition, the following tools provide useful guidance for both selection
and assessment of the collection:

Choice Reviews Online
o a review source for academic libraries
04/20/09
2