Library Policy Statements

I. PROGRAM INFORMATION

The Department of English offers BA, MA (Plan A, thesis and Plan B, non-thesis), and PhD degrees in English and American literature, creative writing, composition and rhetoric, and cultural studies in Asia/Pacific. The department provides service courses in writing and composition for students from other disciplines: English 100 for all incoming freshmen; English language and literature for English majors in the College of Education; and English 209 for students needing instruction in business writing. The department also supervises the writing-intensive program offered through all departments.

Courses offered by the department cover all literary genres in all periods of English and American literature, literary theory and criticism, writing and composition, and the study of the English language. Also offered are comparative literature, folklore studies, children's literature, and creative writing.

The department supports an in-house annual bibliography of faculty publications; a refereed scholarly journal directed by one department member; a general-interest review that regularly features new writing from Asia and the Pacific; and a literary journal published by the department's students.

II. COORDINATION OF COLLECTING RESPONSIBILITIES

The selector coordinates the acquisition of English translations of European authors with the selectors for European languages and literature. Requests for Asian literature in translation are referred to the Asia Collection. English translations of world famous authors from any part of the world are acquired. The Rare Books librarian confers on the acquisition of special editions of contemporary literature and the Book Arts Collection has a standing order to all Black Sparrow Press contemporary literature publications. The theatre selector selects and funds works by and about playwrights after Ibsen not received on the buying plan. No special effort has been made to coordinate the collection of Hawaiian and Pacific literature since these collections aim for comprehensiveness. Duplicate copies may be added to the Hamilton Library general collection to meet student needs.

III. DESCRIPTION OF MATERIALS COLLECTED OR EXCLUDED

Language:

The emphasis is on English language publications, but significant works of criticism in French and German are also acquired. Some material in Latin and the ancient Celtic languages are acquired for medieval studies. There is no active collecting in other Romance languages, Scandinavian, or Russian. Asian and Pacific vernacular languages are collected by those area collections.

No limitations.

Geographic:

The United States and Great Britain are the principal areas of concentration. Literary and critical works from Commonwealth countries are acquired to a lesser degree. Criticism of English and American literature from western Europe is also collected.

Types/Formats of Materials Collected:

Books, journals, conference proceedings, society publications, and microforms are the major types of material. Dissertations and theses are purchased only on specific faculty request. Materials in electronic formats such as online resources and CD-ROMs are acquired. Recordings of poems and plays, as well as presentations on film and video, are purchased by the Wong AV Center at faculty request. Facsimile editions may be purchased occasionally.

Treatment:

Creative and critical works by and about major authors, as well as historical, bibliographical, biographical, anthologies and reference works. Excluded are how-to texts for the basic writing and composition classes.

Major Microform Collection:

Supporting the English department are the following runs on microfilm: Early English Imprints, 1475-1640 (on-going subscription) and Early English Imprints, 1641-1700 (incomplete, due to a subscription lapse); Early American Books, 1639-1800; Three Centuries of English Drama; and Early American Periodicals. There are also backfiles of several early journals.

Date Compiled: 7/01 Compiler: Ross Christensen