Collection Development Policies:

Sociology

Purpose: To support teaching and research through the Ph.D. level in Sociology. Undergraduate areas of specialization include: general sociology, social research and data analysis, law and social control, society environment and technology, personnel and human relations, business and the economy, the family as an institution, and social welfare. Graduate areas of specialization include: Communities, Criminology and Deviance, Environmental Sociology, Gender, Organizational Sociology, Social Psychology, Social Stratification, Sociology of the Family, and Methods and Statistics.

Sociology is an interdisciplinary field and its literature is also of interest to students and researchers in the fields of anthropology, communications, economics, education, environmental science, human development, law, medicine, political science, religion, psychology, and women’s studies.

General Collection Guidelines:
  1. Languages: English is the primary language of collection. Works written in other languages are ordinarily purchased only in English translation. The original texts of the writing of major sociologists are acquired no matter what the language.
  2. Chronological Guidelines: Primary emphasis is on acquiring materials in the 21st century, especially those which are most current. There is selective acquisition of historical materials.
  3. Geographical Guidelines: Primary focus of interest is on materials from the United States, Great Britain, and Western Europe. There may be selective acquisition of materials in other geographical areas.
  4. Treatment of the Subject: Popular-level materials and upper-division textbooks may be selectively acquired. Lower-division textbooks, biographies of sociologists, and case studies are selectively collected.
  5. Types of Material: Most materials acquired are in the form of reference works, bibliographic databases, media, monographs and periodicals. Materials may be in print or electronic format. Proceedings of symposia and international congresses, and annual reports of private or quasi-public agencies, including foundations, are purchased selectively. Statistical materials of all types are obtained in quantity, as well as relevant government documents at the national, state, and international level.
  6. Date of Publication: Emphasis is on materials published since 2000. Retrospective purchasing is very selective and may involve digital editions, microform, reprints, or photocopies instead of the original format.
  7. Other General Considerations: Additional resources on the WSU campus include the Social and Economic Sciences Research Center, which provides assistance with statistical analysis and access to federal census data tapes. ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research) data files can be downloaded directly by any WSU student, faculty or staff.
    8. The Libraries' membership in the Orbis Cascade Alliance allows WSU students, faculty and staff to borrow books from 35 other academic libraries through the Summit WorldCat online catalog; the broader WorldCat system allows easy discovery and interlibrary loan of items not available through WSU or Summit. In addition, the University's reciprocal agreement with the University of Idaho enables faculty, staff and students to make use of their Law Library and their main library.

Observations and Qualifications by Subject with Collection Level: General Sociology: B Emphasizes the study of society and its effect upon individual behavior, including social problems, deviance, marital and family issues, sex roles, social interaction and inequality, religion, and social theory. The emphasis is on the United States, but international and comparatively focused works are collected selectively. Social Research and Data Analysis: B Focuses upon social research methods, quantitative techniques of measurement, and data evaluation/analysis. Government publications, especially statistical materials, are heavily collected. ICPSR machine-readable datasets are available through an institutional membership. Law and Social Control: B Emphasis is on theory, research and data concerning social problems and forms of deviant behavior, such as crime and juvenile delinquent gangs and youth subcultures, suicide, mental health, drug use and abuse, poverty, race and ethnic relations, and societal responses to these problems. Society, Environment, and Technology: B Focus is on the interrelationship between society and natural and technological environments. Personnel and Human Relations: B Emphasizes sociological knowledge about people and how they interact in groups and social situations, including work environments. Focuses on the management of human resources in organizations and social psychology. Business and the Economy: B Focuses on knowledge about complex organizations and society, professions and occupations, public opinion, social inequality, population trends, and minority cultural groups. Stresses good communication and problem solving skills. Family as an Institution: B Focus is on the social structure in which families are embedded. Covers such topics as marriage, family dynamics, gender issues and societal changes and institutions. See also: Human Development
Women's Studies. Social Welfare: C(1) Offers specialization in social casework and community organization. Emphasizes materials dealing with social work, public policy, social welfare programs, community organization, and social casework.

Lorena O’English
Spring 2011