Geography

Purpose: to support general collection needs in the area of geography. While degrees in geography are not offered at Washington State University, geography materials support studies in other disciplines such as history, anthropology, sociology, economics, and general education.

1. Languages: English and English translations are preferred.
2. Chronological Guidelines: Materials on all periods are collected, but emphasis is on the present.
3. Geographical Guidelines: The primary emphasis is on North America, Europe and Latin America. Materials on other parts of the world are purchased selectively.
4. Treatment of the Subject: The following are acquired selectively: research materials of a general nature, popular materials such as travel and exploration accounts, and all levels of textbooks.
5. Types of Material: Books and periodicals form the base for acquisition. Other types collected: online indexes to geography resources, general and specialized atlases and maps, and government publications.
6. Date of Publication: The emphasis is on current publications. Retrospective acquisition is limited
7. Other General Considerations: other collections of interest at WSU include:
   
   Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections --maps, papers, and photographs on the Palouse, Columbia Basin, and Pacific Northwest as well as other geographic areas.
   Map collections in Holland and Terrell Libraries and Owen Library and are made up primarily of government documents and include topographic and other USGS maps, AMS (Army) and GSGS (British) maps, and maps in the SuDoc classification.
   Travel and tourism industry materials are purchased on a separate fund for the School of Hospitality Business Management.
   Geospatial data and resources on geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing are purchased to support the Libraries’ 2 GIS workstations and subscription to the site license of ESRI software.