Collection Development Policy : Political Science / Public Policy
Initial draft, December 1999
Revised January 2001; January 2003; January 19, 2005; January 30, 2007.
I. Current Library Subject Liaisons :
- Department of Political Science - Jon Harrison
- James Madison College - Terri Miller
II. Factors Influencing Collection Policy :
A. Background information :
- Although Michigan State only ranks 26th according to a National Research Council Survey which heavily weights national reputation, it ranks 16th in the country in terms of placing PhD graduates into faculty positions according to a new study by PS: Political Science & Politics. A Ranking That Would Matter, Inside Higher Education, August 21, 2007.
- Political Science graduate programs at Michigan State University were ranked 22nd in the country by chairs and senior faculty according to the 2006 America's Best Graduate Schools, by U.S. News & World Report. Its program in American politics was ranked 16th and in methods 14th.
- According to a US News and World Report article, the Ph.D. program in Political Science at MSU ranked 22nd out of approximately 50 schools in the country in 2001 (see http://web.archive.org/web/20020207123929/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/beyond/gradrank/gbpolisc.htm) while the Master's in Public Administration and Public Policy was tied for 52nd place out of 125 in the country (see http://web.archive.org/web/20020212030444/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/beyond/gradrank/gbpubadm.htm).
- Tied for 22nd in Political Science (2005) according to the U.S. News and World Reporit, March 31, 2008.
- Enrollment figures (Political Science Majors):
- Fall 2001 : POL SCI BA 583, POL SCI, MPA, 33, POL SCI, PhD, 42
- Spring 2002 : POL SCI BA 542, POL SCI, MPA, 30, POL SCI, PhD, 44
- Fall 2002 : POL SCI BA 542, POL SCI, MPA, 36, POL SCI, PhD, 43
- Spring 2003 : POL SCI BA 568, POL SCI, MPA, 32, POL SCI, PhD, 38
- Fall 2003 : POL SCI BA 618, POL SCI, MPA, 51, POL SCI, PhD, 46
- Spring 2004 : POL SCI BA 593, POL SCI, MPA, 49, POL SCI, PhD, 46
- Fall 2004 : POL SCI BA 648, POL SCI, MPA/MA, 36/1, POL SCI, PhD, 43
- In general, we attempt to collect a wide variety of indexing and abstracting tools, periodicals and journals, as well as other research materials to support the undergraduate, master, and PhD programs offered by the MSU Department of Political Science; the various specializations emphasized by the undergraduate James Madison College; and the research and technical assistance programs undertaken by various Institutes on campus.
- The primary emphases of the Department of Political Science include: public administration (including public finance, public health, and social welfare and service delivery); general political science (including American politics, comparative politics, international politics, public policy, political thought, formal theory and research methodology); and prelaw. Political science graduates tend to seek administrative positions in local, state, or federal government, or in public and private agencies; work with citizen action groups and the various voluntary organizations of the nonprofit sector; in the foreign service or with various governmental and private international agencies; and as teachers or policy analysts in law fields.
- The James Madison College is another division on campus that makes heavy use of political science and public policy materials. JMC students focus on political and legal theory, international relations, political economy, and/or social relations. Graduates from this undergraduate program tend to pursue careers in government, politics, administration, business, foreign service, and social services, or else pursue graduate degrees in law and various other social science fields.
- Various other institutes on campus make use of these materials, including the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, the Institute for Children, Youth, and Families, etc. They tend to focus on local, state, and national issues. However, there are an increasing number of programs emphicizing the impact of international problems on domestic issues.
- The Department of Political Science is an active participant in the Environmental Science and Policy, Global Urban Studies, and Family Research Institute interdisciplinary programs.
C. Interdisciplinary Information :
- Political Science/Public Policy (also called Policy Sciences) is probably one of the most interdisciplinary fields in the social sciences and area studies, and course and research activities are not confined to the various units mentioned under "Programmatic Information". Other programs with considerable overlap include: Business, Criminal Justice, Environmental Studies, Law, Sociology, Social Work, Urban Affairs, Area Studies, and International Relations/Development.
- The bibliographers responsible for political science/policy sciences should remain vigilant to avoid unnecessary duplication and explore splitting the funding of expensive purchases such as databases with the bibliographers in these many areas. In addition, the bibliographer for policy sciences should be familiar with the various collections housed in the Government Documents and Maps Department, including State of Michigan, U.S., International, and Maps, and avoid duplicating materials that are housed there. >
III. Analysis of the Subject Field :
A. Chronology: Because the curriculum focuses on developing knowledge, skills, and abilities required by administrators and public policy makers, collection emphasis has been and remains on, primarily, current materials.
B. Language: English is the primary language of the monograph and serial collections. Materials in other languages are selectively ordered primarily by area studies bibliographers.
C. Geography: The major focus is on the United States and Michigan. However, due to the fact that local and national policy issues are impacted by foreign and international developments, a fair amount of materials are collected in these areas as well.
D. Types of materials and formats: Monographs and serial publications are the most commonly acquired type of publication. This includes dictionaries, indexes, abstracts, encyclopedias, and specialized bibliographies. Transactions and proceeedings are acquired selectively, as are major microform or print collections as funding permits. Antiquarian materials and manuscripts from other countries, films or videos, and introductory textbooks are not collected. Popular treatments are selectively collected when they represent interest groups, policy directions, or practical applications. Government documents and maps are selected by librarians who deal with these special formats, although legal materials and reports of private and quasi-public foundations or citizen groups are sometimes collected when they deal with breaking or traditional public policy topics. All MSU PhD disserations and masters theses are collected, as well as publications of MSU faculty or research centers. Computerized databases are acquired as appropriate, making sure we do not provide the same information in both paper and electronic fashion.
E. Date of publication: Although we have older materials in our collection, most of the materials in our library were acquired since the 1960s when Michigan State became a major national university. Current materials are emphacized; retrospective acquisitions are very selective.
IV. Levels of Collecting Intensity (Conspectus Info) :
Collecting level: 3/4
Collecting level: 3
Collecting level: 3
Collecting level: 2/3
Collecting level: 3/4
Collecting level: 4
Collecting level: 3
Collecting level: 3
Collecting level: 3
Collecting level: 3/4
V. Collection Management Issues :
Policy science materials are treated like all other materials in the overall collection. Because of space limitations, multiple copies of the same title are to be avoided. If materials are lost, stolen, or mutilated, and still available for purchase, an attempt is made to replace them. No attempt has been made to determine if older materials need to be microfilmed for preservation purposes.
A. Selection and Acquisition of Materials:
- At present, the bibliographer signs off on Yankee University Press (1077) and Yankee Social Science/Humanities (1091) books and selects from Yankee approval slips. In addition to this, firm orders are generated from various publisher catalogs, sales blurbs, and selected library acquisition lists.
B. Cooperative Agreements :
- At present, I am not aware of any cooperative agreements between the CIC institutions or with other regional universities in Michigan in the areas of political science/public policy other than those developed by the area studies bibliographers.
C. Legal Requirements :
- As a Foundation Center Cooperating Collection, we are required to collect a wide range of materials related to funding source identification tools, fundraising and proposal writing resources, and materials related to the nonprofit sector and philanthropy.
- The Library also participates in various government documents depository programs but they are handled by the Government Documents Library staff. >
D. Web Pages :
- The Policy Science bibliographer has created a web page at http://www.lib.msu.edu/harris23/govdocs/index.htm to promote and facilitate basic research in the collection as well as identify worthwhile web sites on various related topics.
- Department of Political Science Reference Links :
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Jon Harrison
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Phone: 1-800-500-1554 and 1-517-355-2345. 100 Library, East Lansing, MI 48824 USA. Email us: comments@mail.lib.msu.edu
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