Law and Society
Collection Development Policy

PURPOSE

To support the range of instruction and research of UCSB’s interdisciplinary undergraduate major in Law and Society. The major draws on courses throughout the social sciences as well as core courses in the major.

SCOPE

Subject Areas: Law and Society includes study of law and legal systems and their relationship to social, political and cultural institutions. Research and instruction include areas such as law and social institutions, legal decision making, legal ethics, jurisprudence, legal compliance, criminal justice system, police actions, mediation, dispute resolution, comparative legal systems, role of lawyers, courts and public policy, and gender and law.

Languages: The majority of materials acquired are English language. Materials in other languages are selected to support specific research in consultation with the specialist in that area and language.

Chronological Limits: Emphasis is on 20th and 21st centuries. Some areas, such as ethics and jurisprudence, cover all time periods.

Date of publication: Most material is current. Legal materials, for the most part, are only kept in the latest edition.

Geographical areas: Emphasis is primarily on the United States. Some materials are acquired for comparative law.

Types of Materials: Materials are collected in all formats, with an emphasis on research monographs, academic journals, and online legal systems. North American university press titles are received on approval, and other materials are selected individually. Normally, textbooks are not purchased. Subscriptions to journals are entered and maintained in consultation with faculty. Given the interdisciplinary nature of law and society, there is considerable consultation with other social sciences specialists for acquisition of materials and information sources. The collection is also supported by a strong government information collection. UCSB Libraries are a selective depository library for U.S. federal government information, a full depository for California state government information, and selects materials from international governmental organizations, and selectively from foreign countries and other states of the United States.

Formats: Electronic materials are acquired, particularly full text legal databases, such as Westlaw and Academic Universe. Increasingly, information by and about governments and their legal systems is available freely on the World Wide Web.

The collection is also supported by a strong government information collection. UCSB Libraries are a selective depository library for U.S. federal government information, a full depository for California state government information, and selects materials from international governmental organizations, and selectively from foreign countries and other states of the United States.

System-wide resources: Although there are not specific system-wide resources in law, the numerous databases throughout the social sciences that are supported by UC CDL support Law and Society research.

Exclusions: Popular titles about law are normally not purchased, with the exception of materials about copyright.

Related collection development policies: Because of the interdisciplinary aspects of law and society, and because of the range of courses that may be taken for credit toward this major, resources may be collected in Anthropology, Asian American Studies, Black Studies, Communication, Economics, History, Philosophy, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sociology and Women’s Studies.