Collection Management
English and American Literature
Collection Development Policy Statement
I. Purpose and Scope of Collection
A. Curricular/Research/Programmatic Needs
The English and American Literature collection supports the instructional and research needs of many programs at Michigan State University. Though the core of the collection supports activities of the English Department (which has the greatest enrollment of undergraduate majors in the College of Arts and Letters), studies in programs such as Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures, and James Madison College are also centrally located in the study of Literature, as well as programs in IAH, African American Studies, and others. The university’s commitment to interdisciplinary study makes this collection central to much undergraduate education across all colleges. Also, because of the University’s philosophy and emphasis on interdisciplinary education, and because interdisciplinary study is important to “Postmodern” education, there are faculty publishing and doing research that touch this collection area in nearly all colleges.
B. History of the Collection/Existing Strengths and Emphases
Including what exists in Special Collections, the collection of English and American Literature at MSU contains materials much older than the library itself. Primary texts and editions of those texts span the entirety of Western literature in print, as well as criticism and literary theory. Through approval programs and individual selection responsibilities across the library, the collection has been kept current and contemporary.
II. Factors Influencing Collection Policy
A. Anticipated Future Trends
Especially because of the creation of WRAC, and the expansion of the base of graduate students who study Rhetoric while simultaneously taking courses in English, Rhetoric was moved from the purview of the Linguistics to the area of English and American Literature in 2005. The teaching of Composition, as a research area and as a practice, have therefore become of greater importance. There is also the great possibility of the coming of a new residential college in Liberal Arts (yet to be named) that would add 450 freshmen who will study texts in the areas of English and American Literature.
B. Relationships with Other Sources
1. James Madison has it’s own library to supplement what is in Main for the study of English and American Literature.
2. Interlibrary lending policies of the CIC and of libraries participating in MEL make the book collection at MSU that much greater, but simultaneously open the MSU collection for greater use.
3. The willingness of the MSU Library to work on projects and to give monies to such as the Text Creation Partnership for EEBO have given MSUgreater access to such products, with less expense.
C. Relationships to Resources Treated in Other Policy Statements
1. Language. There are limits to this collection by language: Texts in the area collected within English and American Literature are limited to those written in the English, with the exception of languages of the British Isles and certain patois that are indigenous to the United States.
2. Geography. There are limits to this collection by geography: Texts in the area of English and American Literature are limited to the territories of the United States for American Literature, and to the British Isles for English Literature. Exceptions to geographies of texts collected with the English Literature fund may be to those created in areas of British Empire (such as India).
3. Chronology. Because the Library has currently a selector for the Medieval period, the collection of English and American Literature begins with the Renaissance in England.
4. There are other many areas of collection within this one that may overlap into other collector’s (such as Ethnic Studies and Gender Studies), so it is the job of the bibliographer for this subject area to consult and refer titles to other collectors.
III. Analysis of the Subject Field
A. Chronology of the Subject: Emphases/Restrictions
Much of this covered in II. C.1, C.2, and C.3. The library should especially collect materials that support the curriculum and research interests of the MSU community. Contemporary criticism should be emphasized unless more antiquated texts are thought to be of great historical value or stands as singularly important piece of scholarship. Children’s and Juvenile Literature is considered of importance to research in Education and will be collected by the subject bibliographer in that area.
B. Languages of Resources Collected: Exclusions/Emphases/Restrictions
Covered in II. C.1.
C. Geography of the Subject: Emphasis/Restrictions
Covered in II. C.2.
D. Format for Resources Collected: Restrictions, if Any
All formats having to do with this subject area are collected, with the exception of “books on tape.” Film and video productions of literary texts are subject to the discretion of the bibliographer, who may consult with the Bibliographer for Performing Arts. Video materials are housed in the Digital and Multimedia Center.
E. Date of Publications Collected: Emphasis, if Any
Dates for this collection include anything published after the English Renaissance, though emphasis is on what is current—including editions, if research and teaching warrant inclusion.
IV. Levels of Collecting Intensity (estimated Fall, ’05)
As recommended by the American Library Association in its Guide for Written Collection Policy Statements (Chicago, ALA, 1996), the system used to describe the collecting levels in this document is based on a five-point whole-number scale devised by RLG.
|
Subject |
LC Class |
Collecting
Level |
|
|
|
|
|
English Literature |
PR |
|
|
Anglo-Saxon |
|
Linguistics |
|
Middle English |
|
Linguistics |
|
Renaissance |
|
3 |
|
Seventeenth century |
|
3 |
|
Eighteenth century |
|
4 |
|
Nineteenth century |
|
4 |
|
Twentieth century |
|
4 |
|
Provincial and Local (i.e., Scotland, |
|
2 |
|
Canada |
PR 9100-9199 |
2 |
|
Africa |
PR 9340-9408 |
Area Studies |
|
India |
PR 9480-9499 |
Area Studies |
|
Australia |
PR 9551-9619 |
Area Studies |
|
New Zealand |
PR 9620-9664 |
Area Studies |
|
West Indies |
PR 9210-9230.9, |
Area Studies |
American Literature
|
PS |
|
|
Colonial |
PS 700-893 |
2 |
|
Nineteenth century |
PS 991-3390 |
3 |
|
Twentieth century |
PS 3500-3576 |
4 |
|
Genres and Types |
|
|
|
Afro-American |
PS |
Ethnic Studies |
|
American Indian |
PS |
Ethnic Studies |
|
Detective and Mystery Stories |
PN, PR, PS |
2 |
|
Historical Fiction |
PR, PS |
2 |
|
Modern Poetry |
PR, PS |
4 |
|
Science Fiction |
PR, PS |
2 |
|
Westerns |
PS |
2 |
|
Women's Literature |
PR 111-116, |
3 |
|
[Comics in Special Collections.] |
|
|
|
General and Comparative Literature |
|
|
|
General (theory, philosophy,
etc.) |
PN 1-72 |
3 |
|
Literary criticism |
PN 80-99 |
3 |
|
Authorship |
PN 100-253 |
3 |
|
Literary history |
PN 365-1009 |
4 |
|
Poetry |
PN 1010-1599 |
3 |
|
[Drama, Theater, Broadcasting, Cinema, |
|
|
|
Prose |
PN 3311-3503 |
3 |
V. Collection Management Issues
The MSU Library’s policies concerning preservation and management of the stacks in Main apply to collection of English and American Literature. Destroyed or partially destroyed materials will be removed, and replacements will be ordered if available and if not owned by the MSU Libraries in another format (such as those items held electronically). The Conservator for the MSU Libraries shall determine the reparability of a given item.
Weeding: Items not checked out for a period of 10 years and thought to be of “marginal” research value may be removed to Remote Storage, and are to be considered so by the bibliographer for this subject area. Items found to be of greater monetary or research value may be removed to Special Collections—with the consultation of the Head of that unit.
Statement composed in Fall, ’05, by Michael Rodriguez