Library Policy Statements

I. PROGRAM INFORMATION

The Department of Physiology offers undergraduate courses, graduate courses leading to the MS and PhD degrees, and courses which are required for first-year medical students. The undergraduate courses are designed to meet the needs of students interested in health-related careers: dental hygiene, nursing, nutrition, medical technology, medicine, biology, public health, and the social sciences. There is no undergraduate degree granted in this subject area.

The emphasis in the department is on human physiology, but human function is described from a broad perspective that includes anthropological, environmental, and exercise/sports aspects.

Areas of active faculty and graduate student research include hyperbaric physiology and medicine; thermoregulation; cardiovascular physiology; respiratory physiology; neurophysiology; endocrinology; exercise and environmental physiology; tissue culture; and macrophage physiology.

Exercise physiology and hyperbaric physiology and medicine have become areas of particular emphasis within the program over the last few years. The new interdisciplinary graduate program in cell, molecular, and neurosciences will further expand the interests of the department. Cooperative work with Japanese and other scientists utilizing seabird populations of the Hawaiian Islands is also an area of interest.

On occasion, medical school students jointly pursue a graduate degree within this program.

II. COORDINATION OF COLLECTING RESPONSIBILITIES

The field of physiology interrelates with almost every other biomedical science, particularly biochemistry, anatomy and reproductive biology, and pharmacology. Occasionally materials in the field of nutrition, which have a cross-disciplinary interest, are required.

Publications of the National Institutes of Health and other medically related government publications are available through the Government Documents Collection.

The collections at several of the hospital libraries act as a supplementary resource, especially for the more clinically oriented journals, particularly relating to sports medicine, which are not held by Hamilton Library.

III. GUIDELINES TO MATERIALS COLLECTED OR EXCLUDED

Language:

English language material predominates. Some Japanese or European language publications are also collected.

Chronological:

Acquisitions emphasis is almost exclusively on current (past five years) research publications. Although the field of physiology is based on cumulative studies over time, the areas of emphasis within this program, such as exercise physiology, are relatively new.

Geographic:

Not relevant.

Date of Publication:

urrent.

Types/Formats of Materials Collected:

Monographs on current research in the field; conference proceedings; handbooks, dictionaries, indexes, abstracts, and bibliographies (paper/electronic); periodicals, in microform, if necessary, and electronic access, if available; government documents; and undergraduate textbooks selectively. Excluded are manuscripts, reprints of articles previously published, house organs and newsletters, and non-UH dissertations.

Treatment:

Bibliographical; reference; statistical and mathematical; medical aspects; reports on scientific experimental results; professional and applied training.

Date compiled: 7/01 Compiler: Paul Wermager