Science (General)

The collection’s primary function is to support research and teaching in the sciences, broadly speaking, and includes biographies, science encyclopedias, dictionaries and directories, histories of large scientific organizations or academies, publications of large scientific organizations, notable comprehensive works, and expedition material of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Current collecting efforts focus on books on becoming a scientist, succeeding as a scientist, science research methods, proposal writing, scientific data management, women or minorities in science, and science education.

General Science collecting supports all science departments.

An effort is made to maintain past strengths as well as topics of current interest such as minorities in science and science communication. The history of different scientific disciplines are subject to the collection policies of that subject and are collected selectively.

Formats and materials acquired generally

Current collecting includes both print and electronic.

• Monographs
• Journals, online preferred
• Reference materials

Formats and materials collected selectively or by request

• Reprints
• Textbooks

Formats and materials not collected

• Ephemera
• Instructor’s materials
• Juvenile works
• Manuscripts
• Preprints
• Software manuals unrelated to specialized scientific software or applications

Materials collected are in English.

Historical materials as well as current are of interest.

Some selection is made for international coverage.

Sterling Memorial Library and the Medical Historical Library, for historical or biographical titles.