Library Policy Statements

I. PROGRAM INFORMATION

The University of Hawaii at Manoa does not have a Department of General Science but this category is used as a "catch-all" for acquisitions to support introductory general science courses, inter-disciplinary courses (e.g., Island Ecosystems and Technology and Ecology Forum), and courses in the history of science and technology.

The focus of acquisition in this area is: environmental science, island environments, human biology, and the history and nature of science and technology. Support for teaching of: environmental issues (political, social, economic, legal, ethical and aesthetic); environmental history; endangered species; conservation biology; island ecology; science education (trends, techniques, philosophy): philosophy of science; pseudoscience (definitions, methods and expectations of science); Hawaiian natural history; history and biochemistry of drug plants; biology of sex differences; biogeochemical cycles; earth sciences (interdisciplinary aspects); history of science and technology; cultural and historical geography; ethnopharmacology; ornithology; molecular biology; geomorphology; physics and astronomy.

II. COORDINATION OF COLLECTING RESPONSIBILITIES

The Science & Technology selectors collaborate closely with each other in selection of general science titles. There is a focus to build the Library's collection of ecology titles. Faculty requests comprise a bulk of the acquisitions.

Materials relating to the exploration of the Pacific and the history of science in the Pacific are collected by the Pacific Collection. Materials on Hawaiian science are collected by the Hawaiian Collection, but may be duplicated in the Science and Technology collection. Maps are housed in the Map Collection. Audio-visual materials are the responsibility of the Wong AV Center.

III. GUIDELINES TO MATERIALS COLLECTED OR EXCLUDED

Language:

Primarily English; foreign language materials are almost never added except for the history of science and technology.

Chronological:

No limitations; however, history of science concentrates on the 18th and 19th centuries.

Geographic:

No limitations.

Date of Publication:

No limitations.

Types/Formats of Materials Collected:

General interest books and specialized monographs; periodicals, newsletters, and conference publications, especially in the history of science and technology; handbooks, dictionaries, encyclopedias, indexes, abstracts; atlases; microforms, particularly in the history of science and technology are all collected. Electronic versions, with preference for Web access, are purchased when available. Excluded are most textbooks, reprints of articles within serials, theses and dissertations, and manuscript materials, unless appropriate for Hawaiian science.

Treatment:

Historical; research reports; bibliographical; applications; political, social, and cultural aspects; computer applications; demographic, sociological, and psychological aspects; theoretical; management and administration; educational aspects at the post-secondary level; and biographical.

Major Microform Holdings:

The library has the classic works in the history of science available in the Readex microprint Landmarks of Science.

Date Compiled: 7/01 Compiler: Kristen L. Anderson