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Geography Collection Development Guidelines

Geography Collection Development Guidelines

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Geography Collection Development Guidelines

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General Department Information

Undergraduate Goals:

The Undergraduate program in geography is designed to offer students a broad background in the various fields of geography. Students are prepared for advanced study in geography as well as careers in applied fields.

 

Graduate Goals:

The Master of Arts degree program is designed to prepare students for a professional career in academic or applied fields as well as advanced study in geography. The Doctor of Philosophy degree is designed to foster inquiry into contemporary problems in geography while providing training for a professional career in academic or applied fields.

 

Areas of Curricular Concentration:

The Department of Geography offers courses in three major concentrations: social geography, environmental geography, and geographic information science.

 

Degrees Offered:

  • Doctor of Philosophy
  • Master of Arts
  • Bachelor of Arts

 

Special Programs within the School:

The Applied Geography program focuses on Geographic Information Science. It is supported through three laboratories within the Department of Geography: the GIS/Remote Sensing Teaching Laboratory, the Applied Geography Laboratory, and the Earth Science Research Laboratory.

Research and instruction in the Department of Geography is supported through three other laboratories as well: the Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory, the Cartography Laboratory, and the Spatial Analysis Laboratory.

The Raup Library serves as the departmental library, housing professional and scholarly magazines, journals, books, and audiovisual material. Copies of departmental theses and dissertations are also available in the Raup Library.

Dept. of Geography homepage   

 

 

 

Scope of Coverage

 

The following subject areas are collected at the research level:

  • Geography as a profession
  • Geographic thought
  • Historical geography
  • Remote sensing
  • Climatology
  • Physical geography
  • Geomorphology
  • Economic geography
  • Demography
  • Land use
  • Urban geography
  • Commercial geography
  • Nationalism
  • Political geography
  • Natural hazards

The following subject areas are collected at the advanced instructional level:

  • Great cities of the world
  • Population and professions
  • Communities, classes, and races
  • Political theory

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Apply the Following Parameters to the Above Scope of Coverage Areas

 

Language

Primary focus is on material in English or in English translation; however, selected publications are purchased in a variety of languages, most notably in Spanish and German.


Date of Publication

Recent publications are emphasized, however, retrospective collections and older publications are occasionally acquired to further support current research and instructional needs as well as to support new initiatives.

Geographical guidelines

Materials are acquired to support research and work on a global level.

 Multiple copies

Acquire only when warranted by high demand.

 

Material Types
Recent Acquisitions

 

Monographs

Books

  • Research level scholarly materials are emphasized.
  • Selected guidebooks, technical reports, and textbooks are acquired.

 

Maps

 

  • Selected atlases, sheet and wall maps, road maps, aerial photographs, and globes are purchased
  • Most maps are acquired through Kent State University's involvement with the Federal Depository Library Program.
  • Located in the Map Library and the Government Documents Collection in the Main Library.

Audio Visual material

Purchased upon request from departmental faculty.

Theses and dissertations

Selectively acquired in support of graduate and faculty research.

Microform reproductions

Acquired as a last resort.

 

Serials

Current list of Kent State University Department of Geography subscriptions.

Recent volumes of a select number of scholarly journals in the discipline are also available online through the OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center. A current list of titles is available at http://journals.ohiolink.edu/local-cgi/subject.pl?subject=Geography.

Back issues and full runs of selected scholarly journals focusing on Geography are also available online through Kent State University's subscription to JSTOR. A current list of titles is available at https://www.jstor.org/action/showJournals?browseType=title#Geography.

 

Government Documents

The Government Documents collections support research in the Department of Geography. The collection is particularly strong for federal documents and publications from 1962 to the present and for state documents and publications from 1958 to the present; however, many earlier documents are acquired through gifts and purchases. Most documents are cataloged and are accessible through KentLINK.

Methods of acquisition

As a member of the Federal Depository Library Program, Kent State University receives federal documents at no cost. Kent State University is also a State of Ohio Depository Library, and acquires many free state documents and publications as a result.

Federal publications

Many agencies publish and distribute information in support of the various research and instructional interests of the Department of Geography. The maps that are distributed by the Department of the Interior, especially the United States Geological Survey are used within the discipline, and are housed in the Map Library in McGilvrey hall. The Department of Commerce also provides a vast and varied amount of research material. Research in environmental geography is supported through publications and electronic resources from the National Oceanic and Aeronautic Administration within the Department of Commerce. Research within the area of social geography is supported through the documents acquired from the Bureau of the Census as well as through the use of the many online resources that the Census provides. Geographic information science is well-served through the many data disseminators of the federal government. In addition to the data sets that Kent State receives through the Depository Library Program, data are available directly from agencies through free online distribution as well as through the university's involvement with the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research .

State publications

State level publications and documents support the research and instructional needs of the Department of Geography. As a State of Ohio Depository Library, Kent State University receives state level publications from various agencies within the State of Ohio. In addition to the Libraries' involvement with the State of Ohio Depository Library Program, many geological publications are acquired from neighboring states and Canada. Most of the state and Canadian geological publications can be found in the Geological collection in Government Documents.

 

Online Services and Electronic Resources

 


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Interdisciplinary Relations

 

The Department of Geography is formally involved in the Water Resources Research Institute, which facilitates and coordinates collaborative research in aquatic science among faculty members in the Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Geography and Geology.

Additionally, much of the material acquired in support of research and instruction in the Department of Geography has an interdisciplinary scope. Potential disciplines include geology, sociology, political science, nursing and allied health, and exercise, leisure, and sport. The material acquired in support of research and instruction in geographic information science is especially worth noting as it has potential uses among any discipline that analyses and uses statistics and data.