Political Science
Collection Development Policy

PURPOSE

To support the range of instruction and research at through the doctoral level at UCSB in the major fields of political science. The UCSB Political Science department emphasizes integration of theory and practice with emphases in public service and international relations for undergraduates. The graduate program concentrates in the areas of American politics, international relations, comparative politics, political theory, and methodology.

SCOPE

Languages: The majority of materials acquired are English language. Materials are also selected by area subject specialists in Latin America, East Asia and Slavic Studies. Materials in other languages are selected in consultation with the specialist in that area and language.

Chronological Limits: Emphasis is on 20th and 21st centuries. In some areas, such as political theory, there is no restriction by time period.

Date of publication: Emphasis is on current imprints, with some older works collected as appropriate.

Geographical areas: All areas of the world are covered, with emphasis on the United States, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

Types of materials: Materials are collected with an emphasis on research monographs and academic journals. 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. 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: Materials are collected in all formats. Electronic materials are acquired, particularly electronic journals. Increasingly, information by and about governments, political groups and issues is becoming available freely on the World Wide Web.

Exclusions: Popular political commentary is normally not purchased, except for works by major political figures. Data sets are normally not acquired. Data is available through a campus-wide subscription the ICPSR and other resources obtained through the Social Science Data Center.

System-wide resources: UC libraries have rich collections in political science and related area studies on various campuses.  Resources not purchased for the UCSB Libraries are most often readily available via interlibrary loan from other UC libraries.

Related collection development policies: With the increasing interdisplinary research in political science, all other UCSB social sciences and area studies collection policies support some aspect of political science research.