Collection Development Statement
Agriculture and Biology (AGBIO)
FUND NAME:
AGBIO
PRINCIPAL SELECTOR
Helen Smith
Agricultural Sciences Librarian
408 Paterno Library
SECONDARY SELECTORS
Janet Hughes
Biological Sciences Librarian
408 Paterno Library
Kathy Fescemyer
Life Sciences Librarian
408 Paterno Library
Amy Paster
Life Sciences Librarian
408 Paterno Library
GENERAL STATEMENT:
The AGBIO fund supports the entire College of Agricultural Sciences (11 departments,
plus the School of Forest Resources with three departments), and the departments of
Biology and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology in the College of Science. This fund
also supports the interdisciplinary programs of the Huck Institutes for the Life Sciences
which include graduate programs in Genetics, Ecology, Integrative Biosciences,
Neuroscience, Physiology, and Plant Biology.
PROGRAMMATIC INFORMATION
Instruction: Baccalaureate, Master and Doctoral degree options are offered by most of
the above departments. In many cases a large department such as Biology offers several
Baccalaureate degrees, each with a different focus. Extensive use of library resources
and services is included in a variety of courses across all these departments. Graduate
students draw on the collections exhaustively for thesis and dissertation research.
Service: The collection also supports Cooperative Extension agents (located in all of the
counties in Pennsylvania) by providing resources to answer agricultural and consumer
related questions and to assist in developing programs for the citizens of the state. In
addition, the Penn State Libraries are designated as “resource libraries” for the State in
the subject of agriculture, and as such collect practical materials to support the citizens of
Pennsylvania.
Research: The collection supports a wide range of research in the designated
departments and programs. There is a rich collaborative environment across the science
disciplines at Penn State, and most of the departments served by the AGBIO fund
collaborate extensively with each other, other departments at University Park, and with
the Hershey Medical Center. The Huck Institutes for the Life Sciences foster this
collaboration in all areas. Particular strengths have been developed in the collection in
the area of mycology and mushroom production, turfgrass science, tree genetics,
evolutionary genetics and genomics, and cocoa and chocolate manufacturing
SCOPE OF THE COLLECTION
 Languages Collected: English is the primary language in the collection.
 Geographical Limits: there are no geographical limits, although the United States
is the primary focus. Resources on local (Pennsylvania and contiguous states)
fauna and flora are heavily collected.
 Chronological Limits: the most current information is heavily collected; some
older information will be acquired if it is of primary significance.
 Major Publishers:
o Major commercial publishers include:
 AVI
 Blackwell
 CRC
 Elsevier
 Harwood
 Humana Press
 Marcel Dekker
 Nature
 Oxford
 Prentice Hall
 Routledge
 Sage
 Springer
 Taylor & Francis
 Van Nostrand
 VCH
 Wiley
o Smaller Presses that are also of importance include:
 CABI
 FAO
 Island Press
 Mad River Press
 Ten Speed Press
 University presses
o Many Societies are important publishers in the Life Sciences, including:


 American Fisheries Society
 American Phytopathological Society
 American Society for Microbiology
 American Society of Agricultural & Biological Engineers
 American Society of Agronomy
 Crop Science Society of America
 Ecological Society of America
 Entomological Society of America
 Institute of Food Technologists
 International Food Information Society
 Soil Science Society of America
 Wildlife Society
Types of Materials Collected:
o Reference Works: encyclopedias and handbooks are collected, electronic
access is preferred.
o Academic and Trade Publications: heavily collected, especially
monographic series such as Methods in Molecular Biology, Methods in
Enzymology, Annual Reviews, and the like.
o Periodicals: journals are the primary means of communication among
researchers in the sciences and are collected extensively. Electronic
access is preferred.
o Government Documents: some publications from the USDA and US
Forest Service, especially Soil Surveys and research reports, are still
collected in print, however many government publications are now
available online and this access is preferred. State and federal reports on
wildlife and fisheries, parks and environmental issues are accepted but not
actively sought out. The Census of Agriculture remains an important
statistical resource.
o Legal Materials: rarely collected
o Special Collections: in mushroom culture and mycology only
o A-V Materials: purchased only upon request by faculty
o Electronic Resources: online versions of journals and reference sources
are preferred; interactive software to learn scientific concepts is purchased
upon request by faculty.
o Data/Statistical Collections: purchased only in consultation with the
Librarian responsible for Social Sciences Data.
o GIS resources: The College of Agricultural Sciences uses GIS and related
advanced information system technologies for environmental assessment,
agriculture, and land management and planning. However at this time,
these data are collected at the Land Analysis Lab in the College, not in the
Libraries.
o Maps: Soil Surveys are collected extensively. Other maps from the USDA
and PA Department of Agriculture are also collected and usually housed
in the Maps Library.
Core Resources (electronic or print):
o Indexes:



AGRICOLA (NAL Catalog and Article Citation Database)
Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts
ASAE Technical Library (online access to all ASAE/ASABE
publications)
 Biological Abstracts
 CAB Abstracts
 Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management
 Food Science & Technology Abstracts
 PubMed
 Turfgrass Information Center
 Web of Science
 Wildlife and Ecology Studies Worldwide
o Journals:
 Agricultural Economics
 Agronomy Journal
 American Forests
 American Journal of Agricultural Economics
 American Journal of Veterinary Research
 Animal Conservation
 Annals of the Entomological Society of America
 Annual Review of Entomology
 Applied Engineering in Agriculture
 ASM journals
 Biosystems Engineering
 Canadian Journal of Forest Research
 Cell
 Crop Science
 Developmental Biology
 Ecological Applications
 Forestry
 HortScience
 Insect Science
 International Turfgrass Bulletin
 Journal of Agricultural Education
 Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health
 Journal of Animal Sciences
 Journal of Biological Chemistry
 Journal of Dairy Research
 Journal of Dairy Science
 Journal of Ecology
 Journal of Extension
 Journal of Food Protection
 Journal of Food Quality
 Journal of Food Science
 Journal of Forestry
 Journal of International Food and Agribusiness Marketing
 Journal of Medical Entomology
 Journal of Molecular Biology
 Journal of Phytopathology
 Journal of the American Veterinary Medicine Association
 Journal of Turfgrass and Sports Surface Science
 Journal of Wildlife Management
 MGA Bulletin
 Mushroom Science
 Mushroom World
 Mycoscience
 NACTA Journal
 Nature
 North American Journal of Fisheries Management
 Pennsylvania Forests
 Phytopathology
 Plant Journal
 Plant Science
 Planta
 Poultry Science
 Rural Sociology
 Science
 Soil Science Society of America Journal
 Transactions of the ASABE
 USGA Green Section Record
o Major reference works:
 Agricultural Statistics
 Agropedia
 ASABE standards
 Atlas des Champignons
 Beard's turfgrass encyclopedia for golf courses, grounds, lawns,
sports fields
 Birds of North America
 Census of Agriculture
 Colour Atlas of Basidiomycetes
 Current Protocols in Molecular Biology
 Encyclopedia of Agricultural, Food and Biological Engineering
 Encyclopedia of Endangered Species
 Encyclopedia of Entomology
 Encyclopedia of Environmental Studies
 Encyclopedia of Forest Science
 Encyclopedia of Genetics (print and online)
 Encyclopedia of Life Sciences
 Encyclopedia of Molecular Biology
 Illustrated Dictionary of Mycology
 Life on Earth: an encyclopedia of biodiversity, ecology and
evolution

 Mammalian Species
 Nutrient Requirements of Domestic Animals series from the NRC
 Soil Surveys
 the Prokaryotes
Types of Materials Excluded:
o Software and programs are not generally collected
o Textbooks are not specifically collected
o Most foreign patents
o “Coffee table” picture books and field guides unless they are PA specific
o Lab manuals
o Cookbooks that are primarily recipes, although those with cultural, food
habits, or dietary, information, are collected on a limited basis.
o Juvenile materials are generally not purchased by this fund, but rather by
the Education and Behavioral Sciences Library.
AREAS OF FOCUS/STRENGTH
Topic
Genetics, including
evolutionary genetics and
genomics, and tree genetics
Call number area
QH430- QH475
and other areas
Turfgrass science
Mycology & Mushroom
production
SB433
QK617 & SB353
reason for focus/strength
The genetics collection at PSU was
once ranked 3rd among ARL
libraries, continuous use of genetics
materials by almost all AGBIO
departments.
Top program
Top program and historical strength
COORDINATING AND COOPERATIVE EFFORTS
Related Funds at UP
 HELTH supports infectious disease research, nursing research and other
disciplines that incorporate genetics, biomedicine, and endocrinology.
 The ENGIN fund provides support for all aspects of basic engineering, which are
heavily used by the Agricultural and Biological Engineering faculty and students
 EARTH (EMS Library) supports resources on hydrology, meteorology, remote
sensing and other topics related to forestry and the environment.
 Dickinson has programs in environmental law and agricultural law.
 The HRIM fund supports Restaurant and Leisure Management and purchases
some cookbooks and materials on catering and large group cooking, as well as
eco-tourism materials.
 The Plant Pathology Library (housed in the College of Agricultural Sciences Plant
Pathology department) has paid for several online journal subscriptions.
Campus Locations with programs in this area
 Berks has a program in agriculture business





Dubois has a program in wildlife technology
Mont Alto has a program in forest technology
Altoona has a B.A. in Environmental Studies
Capital College has an Environmental Engineering major
Abington, Altoona and Behrend have biology programs.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
It is increasingly difficult to justify general science and natural history journals and other
resources, because there are few faculty who champion broad subjects, and faculty tend
to cite and publish in more specialized literature. Particular regard must be used to ensure
the collection is not decimated in order to support more specialized resources.
Only duplicates of print resources are considered for de-selection, otherwise unless the
item is in abysmal condition, it is retained.
Materials are considered for the Annex if they are older, not in the English language, or
also available in electronic format.
Current subscriptions are retained in print (even if this is format duplication) if they are
Pennsylvania in nature, or from our special subject areas – mycology and mushroom
production, turfgrass science, or tree genetics.