E-mail this pagePolitical Science Collections Policies
Clientele:
The Political Science collection serves the curricular needs of undergraduates and faculty in the department. The number of majors has declined by approximately 25% in the most recent 5 years. There are about 6 faculty members directly involved in teaching political science.
The following areas are also related to the collection:
- Law (K),
- Political economy/sociology (HM33-35),
- Political societies (HS2275-2499),
- Socialism,
- Communism,
- Anarchism (HS),
- Public Opinion (HN90+),
- Public Policy (HD85).
Existing Collections: ECS 3 Language E
Plattsburgh's Political Science collection contains both current and older materials in English, with a U.S. and global focus. We have specifically collected materials related to Canada, Latin America, and New York State. The General Collection has solid retrospective holdings in classical political thought and institutions as well as Cold War politics. Other areas of emphasis include colonialism/imperialism, nationalism, immigration, human rights, electoral politics, and intelligence activities.
The Government Documents collection contains a wealth of primary source materials from the legislative and judicial branches. In addition, the executive branch provides valuable resources particularly in the areas of foreign and military affairs, census data, criminal justice, and presidential/gubernatorial reports. There is a tremendous amount of government information readily available on the web through governmental sites such as GPO Access, THOMAS, and the homepages for the Canadian national government and the New York State government.
The Reference collection includes several recently published encyclopedias and other relevant print monographs. There are numerous long-standing yearbooks to which we subscribe, such as Statesman's, Europa, United Nations, and CQ Almanac. Feinberg also has web database subscriptions to Social Sciences Abstracts and LEXIS-NEXIS.
The General Collection reflects the standard Anglo-American political tradition. There are a relatively large number of volumes on British political history although this is no longer an area of emphasis in our curriculum. The same is true of superpower (i.e. Cold War) politics. These areas of the collection have been targeted for weeding.
Current Collecting:
We currently collect current materials in this field as described above. Both theoretical works on political ideals/philosophy as well as practical, issue-oriented material on current politics are collected. Growth areas include areas of current global interest, such as the European Community, Canada, Latin America, the Third World, and the Pacific Rim. We are also seeking to strengthen the collection in the area of green politics, issue-centered political movements, political biographies and the materials on the political influence of women, minorities, the media, corporations, and lobbyists. A suggestion has been made to assign the area of Law (currently unassigned) to the Political Science liaison, since these areas are closely related.
Subjects Covered:
- LC class J
Publisher Information:
Formats:
Materials in print, microform (periodicals), and electronic formats are collected. Paper is preferred over cloth.
Notes:
CCD funds have greatly benefited the political science collection, particularly in the areas of women's studies, Canadian, Quebec, Latin American and intercultural studies. The collection has also benefited from purchases made by other programs such as history, philosophy, women's studies, minority/intercultural studies, Canadian studies, and Latin American studies.