Anthropology Collection Development Policy

About the Library

Policies & Guidelines

Collection Development

Subjects

Anthropology Collection Development Policy

Purpose
The collection supports present and anticipated teaching and research in the field of anthropology. At present, the central focus of the department and the chief interests of the faculty are encompassed in the following areas of teaching and research: the archaeology and ethnography of North, Central, and South America, the Pacific Basin, Western Europe and Africa, with emphasis on applied work in social anthropology, cultural resource management, and preservation archaeology. Within archaeology, particular emphasis is placed upon the prehistoric and historic archaeology of the southeastern United States and the Gulf Coast. Social anthropology increasingly concentrates on urban anthropology and on rural-urban connections. There is also some interest in linguistics and folklore.

The department offers the bachelors degree in anthropology, and in conjunction with the MS in Urban Studies, also offers an applied anthropology track. The programs in anthropology allow concentration in traditional and applied anthropology: i.e., cultural anthropology, archaeology, physical anthropology, linguistics, the application of cultural anthropology to cultural resource management, and urban anthropology. The Anthropology Department participates in the Latin American and Caribbean Studies program, the Women's Studies program, and the Applied Urban Anthropology track within the M.S. in Urban Studies.

In addition to the support for the specific degree programs of the Anthropology Department, the collection also serves as a resource for undergraduate and graduate students and faculty members in other disciplines. Related departments and programs covering subjects of interest to the Anthropology Department are biology, English, fine arts, geography, geology, history, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, psychology, sociology, urban studies, and women's studies.

Languages
The primary language of acquisition is English. Materials in Spanish appropriate to the curriculum are collected on a selective basis. Occasionally, materials in other European languages, such as French, German, and Italian are collected. Non-European languages are not collected.

Chronological Guidelines
By their nature, anthropological topics know no chronological time limits. While the topics in anthropology and archaeology cover all time periods from prehistory to modern, there is some emphasis on the prehistoric through pre-Columbian periods, particularly in archaeology. Applied anthropology relates more to 19th and 20th century issues.

Geographical Guidelines
While materials on all geographical areas are collected, there is a primary emphasis on the Western Hemisphere, in particular, the southeastern and Gulf Coast portions of the United States, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America including Peru. There is also some emphasis on the Pacific, on Europe, including western and central Europe and the Balkans, and on sub-Saharan Africa, especially east and west Africa.

Treatment of Subject
The following treatments of materials in anthropology are collected:

Only major works related to the history of anthropology are collected.

Materials on practice and methods and computer applications in all areas are collected, particularly in applied anthropology and archaeology.

Within the subjects and geographical areas collected in anthropology (sociocultural anthropology, ethnology, folklore, and archaeology), materials giving the following treatments are collected: the political aspects of, the religious aspects of, the economic aspects of, the medical aspects of, the social aspects of, the psychological aspects of, and the legal aspects of.

Types of Material
The following types of materials are collected in anthropology:

Monographs and serials form the basis for anthropology acquisitions. Also collected are: dissertations (very selective), microforms, manuscripts and typescripts (rarely), translations (selectively, rarely), federal and state documents, proceedings and publications of various groups, pamphlets and newsletters of anthropological societies, special studies, ichnographic material (extremely selectively), bibliographies, indexes and abstracts, directories, handbooks, source books, encyclopedias, dictionaries, linguistic atlases, and videotapes.

Date of Publication
Current materials are most important. Emphasis is on materials published within the past twenty years. Retrospective materials are collected only for certain classic 19th and early 20th century monographic series which contain currently relevant primary data on social anthropology and archaeology.

Other Resources
The Federal Documents Unit within the Earl K. Long Library is a source of much material that supports the programs of the Anthropology Department. Especially important are the publications of the Bureau of American Ethnology, now renamed the Division of Anthropology of the Smithsonian Institution. Besides Federal Documents, the department works with Media Resources in the purchase of films and videotapes for use in classroom instruction. The primary non-UNO resource is Tulane University's Latin American Library.

Related Policy Statements
Other information related to Anthropology will be found in the following policy statements:

Biology: human anatomy, physiology, and nutrition
Fine Arts: art history, ancient middle american art, african and oceanic art, and greek and roman art
Geography: physical and cultural geography of world places
History: ancient history, biblical history, and historical archaeology
Sociology: social organization, the family, and sociology of religion
Urban Studies: applied urban anthropology, and urban planning