COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY
HISTORY (HIST fund)
Latest revision: July 1, 2007
PRINCIPAL SELECTOR:
Eric Novotny
W321 Pattee Library
865-1014
ecn1@psu.edu
I. Purpose and Programs Supported:
The History fund provides primary support for the curricular and research needs of
faculty and students in the History Department. The Department offers an
undergraduate major and minor, and an M.A. degree en route to a Ph.D. The fund
supports 40-50 faculty, 60-70 graduate students, and over 300 undergraduate minors in
the History Department, as well as an indeterminant number of scholars in other
disciplines whose research employs historical materials including; African-American
Studies, American Literature, Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies,
Communication Arts and Sciences, Comparative Literature, Film, History of the Book,
Philosophy, Political Science, Science, Medicine, and Technology in Culture, and
Women’s Studies. The Religious Studies Program, administratively housed within the
Department of History, is primarily supported by the Religion fund.
The History Department offers a broad curriculum of undergraduate and graduate
courses, and sustains a robust program of faculty and student research. In addition to
national and region-based history, subjects include:
History of Religion, Diaspora Studies, Comparative Colonialism, Women and Gender
History, Political and Diplomatic History, Cultural and Social History, Military History,
Economic History, Labor History, Environmental History, and History of Science,
Technology, and Society
Collection development is focused on acquiring materials that match Penn State’s
History course offerings and research interests. Current areas of Faculty strength
include the early modern period, the US Civil War era, and modern society. The
Department has also developed faculty concentrations in thematic areas which cut
across geographical or chronological lines, such as gender, the African diaspora
(including Latin America and the Caribbean), and empire and colonialism. In
conjunction with the Department of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, Penn
State also has a strong emphasis on Ancient history. The history selector works
collaboratively with other selectors to ensure interdisciplinary needs are met.
Additional Sources of Support:
Many subject specialists acquire materials related to the history of the discipline they
collect for (e.g. Medicine, Anthropology, Education). Additional materials of value to
historians are acquired through communication and cooperation with selectors across
the libraries, including: African and African American Studies, Archaeology, Art, Asian
Studies, Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, Comparative Literature, English,
Ethnic Studies, Global Studies, Jewish Studies, Latin American Studies, Law, Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies, Middle East Studies, Politics and Government,
and Religious Studies.
In addition to subject based funds, historians rely on material purchased by related Penn
State libraries including the Business Library, the News and Microforms Library, the
Social Sciences Library, the Maps Library, and the Special Collections Library. Certain
history of science courses depend upon the science library collections.
II. General Collection Guidelines:
LOCATION OF MATERIALS: Physical collections acquired using HIST funds
are ordinarily housed at University Park. The History subject specialist consults
and cooperates with subject specialists at Penn State campus libraries to insure
coverage of needed research materials at all locations.
LANGUAGES: English is the most commonly collected language, with important
primary and secondary works in modern languages collected including German,
French, Spanish, and to a lesser degree, Italian and Russian. Works in Chinese
and Japanese are often acquired in cooperation with the Asian Studies librarian
(see the collection policy statement for Asian Studies). Other languages are
selectively acquired in consultation with researchers working in these areas, with
an emphasis on acquiring core works, reference materials such as directories,
biographies, etc…, and collections of primary source documents.
CHRONOLOGICAL GUIDELINES: Acquiring recent in-print publications takes
priority. However, older, out-of-print materials are frequently pursued to fill gaps
in the collections as they are discovered. Ordinarily no preference will be given
to original printings over reprints.
GEOGRAPHICAL GUIDELINES: Collecting follows the University’s
research and teaching emphases, with significant current concentrations in Asia,
Latin America and the Caribbean, Western Europe, and the United States.
Collecting of materials concerning Eastern Europe, Canada, and modern Africa
mirrors the evolving emphases of the Department. Materials related to
Pennsylvania history are collected extensively.
WEEDING AND DESELECTION: By definition Historians retain an interest in
older materials long after they lose value in most other disciplines. To support
historical research it is understood that acquired materials will ordinarily be
retained indefinitely in the collection. In the event of de-selection, preference will
be given to retaining works that are unique to Penn State (or held by few other
libraries), and works in subject areas where Penn State has developed in-depth
collections.
III TYPES OF MATERIALS COLLECTED
The collection is developed to support teaching and research in higher education.
Regardless of format, academic publications are the focus.
Monographs form the largest portion of the collection and include University Press
books, trade publications, conference proceedings, etc… Facsimile reproductions,
anthologies, and other collections of English-language primary source documents are
collected selectively as needed for teaching. These materials may be collected in
greater depth for languages other than English where we lack the original documents.
Journals - Scholarly journals publishing research throughout the sub-disciplines of
History are acquired in all relevant languages. Subscriptions to new journals are
initiated after careful review and in consultation with the History faculty.
Theses and dissertations from institutions other than Penn State are acquired in
limited numbers, typically on a case by case basis upon request.
Archival Materials including rare books, original manuscripts, broadsides, interviews,
and other unpublished materials, which are not in microform, are the primary
responsibility of Special Collections and are covered by separate collection statements.
Microforms including primary source materials, manuscript collections, periodical and
newspaper backfiles, and other items unavailable or too expensive in hard copy are
often acquired on microform (microfilm, microfiche, etc). Additional microform
collections are purchased as funds permit. Often such purchases are possible only
when additional funds are available through endowed library funds, Arts and Humanities
Group funds, or other sources.
Government Documents are acquired and managed by the Government Documents
Librarian. See the statement for the U.S. federal government Depository Program.
Maps and Atlases are primarily the responsibility of the Maps selector. Additional
cartographic materials may be purchased on the History fund.
Historical News Sources are typically acquired on microfilm, or more recently, online.
The Communications selector has primary responsibility for current newspaper
subscriptions. History funds are used to acquire retrospective archives of older
publications as funds permit. For online, databases that provide facsimile page images
are preferred over those that provide text only.
Reference Works including bibliographies, dictionaries and encyclopedias, directories,
indexes and abstracts are collected extensively in print and online to support faculty and
student research.
Films are acquired primarily to support curricular interests in the Department.
Electronic Resources are acquired for most formats, particularly scholarly journals,
reference works, and collections of historical documents such as Early American
Imprints or Eighteenth Century Collections Online.
The following types of materials are not ordinarily collected: minor revisions and
reprints of works, works on poor quality paper, and juvenile literature. Textbooks,
anthologies, and popular level publications are acquired selectively when they relate to
research and teaching in the Department. Genealogical materials are not collected
excepting resources relevant to historical researchers such as the U.S. Census
Manuscripts, or selected items documenting central Pennsylvania history.
IV: Other General Considerations: All selectors are guided by the Collection
Development Guideline adopted by the Dean's Library Council in 2001. In addition the
Collection Development Council has begun working on Core Principles to guide the
overall development of the collection.
V: Collection Levels
The levels below reflect existing collection strengths, which are heavily influenced by the
cumulative impact of prior collection decisions. It is not a statement of desirable future
collection levels. These will evolve with the interests of historical scholars. Collecting
patterns and strengths within the broad categories are in the "Comments" column.
(F = non-English language collection level; E = English language collection level)
Subject
Auxiliary
Sciences of
History
History,
General
Great Britain
France
Germany
Collection
Level
3
Comments
See-also the appropriate collection policy statements for
CC (Archaeology), CJ (Numismatics) and CN
(Inscriptions, Epigraphy)
4E
3F
4
4E
3F
4E
3F
Mediterranean,
Greco-Roman
World
Italy
4E
3F
Netherlands & 3
Belgium
Eastern
3E
Europe,
2F
Balkans
Russia,
4E
U.S.S.R.
3F
See the Statement for Classics and Ancient
Mediterranean Studies. Modern history of the region is
collected at Level 3E and level 2F
See-also the Collection Statement for Classics and
Ancient Mediterranean Studies.
Acquisitions relating to the Ottoman Empire have
recently increased.
Northern
Europe,
Scandinavia
Spain
Portugal
Asia
Middle East
Africa
Indians, North
America
United States
3
Emphasis on trade and relations in the early modern
world
4
3
4E
3F
4E
3F
4
4
See-also the Spanish Collection Development Policy
4
All time periods, with an emphasis on Slavery and the
Civil War Era, African-American history, women’s
history
Pennsylvania history collected at near Level 5
New England,
Atlantic Coast
Southern U.S.,
Gulf States
Midwest,
Mississippi
Valley
The West
4
Latin America
3
Canada
2
Acquisitions have strengthened since the 1990s with an
emphasis on China, Japan, and India.
4
3
3
Increasing emphasis since early 2000’s in conjunction
with new Latino/a Studies minor.
Areas closer to Level 4 include Mexico, the Caribbean,
and topics such as African Diaspora, colonialism.
VI: PRIORITIES FOR FUTURE COLLECTION EFFORTS





Continue to pay special attention to Women's history and African-American
history.
Support new areas of interest in the Department such as Latino/a Borderlands
Studies, and Ottoman History.
Expand subjects collected at Level 3 and 4 in languages other than English.
Continued purchase of microform and online primary source materials
Expand upon current strengths in historical newspapers from the United States
and Pennsylvania to include more international titles, and titles from minority
populations in the United States.
VII: RELATED COLLECTION POLICIES (include URL’s here for online version)