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Scope

Library provision in philosophy is threefold, college, faculty (Philosophy Library) and University (Bodleian and its dependencies).

Coordination

The University’s Committee for  Library Provision in Philosophy (COLP) consists of members of the Faculty of Philosophy, junior representation, the specialist Philosophy Librarian, and senior staff from other Bodleian libraries. The Committee advises the Philosophy Librarian and other acquisitions staff on matters relating to the selection of books, journals and non-book media in philosophy for libraries with philosophy holdings in the University.

The Philosophy Librarian is based in the Philosophy Library and has responsibility for philosophy provision in the Philosophy Library,  and in the Bodleian as well as a wider role as a co-ordinator and subject consultant, liaising with students, Faculty members and staff in other libraries, and is responsible for the distribution of information on book usage, syllabus changes and new publications to acquisitions librarians and teaching staff. The Philosophy Librarian is  the Convenor of the Philosophy Subject Group, a group of library staff working in  acquisitions and reader services in central, faculty and college libraries, who meet regularly and discuss service provision, policy and collection development in philosophy.

Monitoring and evaluation

In the Philosophy Library, regular reports are obtained on frequency of loans for all books in the collection. These data are used to identify heavily-used items, so that extra copies can be obtained, or items transferred to the short loans collection. Little-used items are transferred to the stacks, or in the case of serials or series, subscriptions are cancelled. The Automatic Stack Request system in the Bodleian Library  enables the Bodleian to carry out analysis on usage.

The annual accessions lists for the Philosophy Library are mounted on the library’s home page, and are circulated on request to other libraries and to members of Faculty. Evaluation of acquisitions and reassessment of priorities in acquisitions and in open shelf policy is the responsibility of the Committee for Library Provision in Philosophy in collaboration with the Philosophy Librarian and the Head of Collection Development for The Bodleian Libraries.

Comments on acquisitions (as on other aspects of service provision) may be made directly to the Philosophy Librarian or to the Committee for Library Provision in Philosophy, or channelled through the Undergraduate and Graduate Joint Committees in Philosophy. The University Library Service carries out regular surveys of readers, which include a range of questions on acquisitions.

Selection policy

College Libraries

The college libraries provide loans in philosophy to their own senior and junior members. Their collections are rich and varied, and aim to cover at least every set text and core secondary works. A College Librarian is a member of the Philosophy Subject Group, and works with the Philosophy Librarian to promote a consistent level of coverage in the college sector.

Philosophy Library

The Philosophy Library is the main University provider for loans in philosophy to undergraduates, graduate students and senior members.

The Philosophy Library purchases almost all its holdings, and intentionally duplicates many books and journals, held in the reference collections in the Bodleian and its dependencies. It has a  book stock of 27,000 volumes (15,000 titles): multiple copies are provided of frequently-used books. Acquisitions are selected by the Philosophy Librarian, from reading lists, reviews and publishers’ catalogues, advised by members of the Philosophy Faculty. Requests from readers make up 20% of purchases, and because books are ordered and processed locally, fast-track acquisition requests can often be filled in less than 24 hours. Philosophy Library holdings include:

Reference works
A collection of dictionaries, philosophical dictionaries and encyclopedias, and complete works of key philosophers.

Lending collection
The collection covers the history  of  philosophy from ancient times to the present, with extensive holdings also in aesthetics; epistemology; ethics; gender studies; logic;  metaphysics; philosophy of  language; philosophy of law; philosophy of mathematics; philosophy of mind; philosophy of psychology; philosophy of religion; philosophy of science; political and social philosophy.

The primary focus is on material required for undergraduate and taught graduate courses, with supplementary material complementing these teaching areas, and  research-level material to serve graduate needs and the wider academic community. Loan statistics demonstrate a 90% overlap on books borrowed by both graduates and undergraduates.

Philosophical texts are generally held in the original language and in translation. Secondary works are usually English-language  only, unless a seminal work is only available in another language.

Journals
The library takes many frequently used philosophy journals (65 current titles). Journal usage is regularly reviewed: alternatives such as on-line access are promoted.

Electronic data (networked through the electronic domain of the University), including:

• commercial on-line philosophical texts, e.g. Past Masters. The Philosophy Library aims to build up a collection of  principal texts of all key philosophers;
• in-house digital collection, to supplement commercial provision of philosophical texts, and for out of print secondary works, targeting teaching needs;
• bibliographical aids, e.g. Philosopher’s Index;
• on-line reference works, e.g. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy;
• on-line journals.

Videos
The reference collection targets live philosophical debate and experts on their specialist subjects. Philosophy videos acquired by the Central Bodleian may also be deposited in the Philosophy Library.

Adequacy and priorities in selection

Subject to budgetary constraints and availability, the Philosophy Library aims to purchase the following, in this ranking order:

a) Items on the Philosophy Faculty core reading lists.

b) Items on individual tutors’ reading lists.

c) Additional copies of items which qualify under a) and b), or which loan statistics demonstrate are in heavy demand.

d) Items requested by members of the Faculty of Philosophy, provided that these fall within the scope of the collection. Very specialist items are likely to be acquired for Central Bodleian only.

e) Items requested by library users, provided that these fall within the scope of the collection. Very specialist items are likely to be acquired for Central Bodleian only.

f) Newly-published books by well-known and respected philosophers, on topics central to the scope of the collection, and which are judged likely to be heavily-used. The Library aims to acquire these on publication, rather than delaying acquisition while waiting for reviews. This is of particular importance for UK publications (where the Bodleian’s copy is subject to the time constraints of the legal deposit process). 

g) Items well-reviewed in academic journals, provided that these fall within the scope of the collection. Very specialist items will  be acquired for Central Bodleian only

The majority of items are selected by the Philosophy Librarian on these criteria. Items which are less straightforward, because of questions of cost, scope, or doubts as to content, such as those caused by adverse comments by  a reviewer, are referred to appropriate members of the COLP or the Faculty of Philosophy. It is library policy to spread available funding across the scope of the collection, taking into consideration such factors as the number of students taking a particular course.

Donations

The library welcomes donations to stock where these strengthen the library’s holdings, whether through additional titles or duplication. Offers of donations should be made to the Philosophy Librarian. Unsolicited donations may be accepted, or passed to more appropriate libraries, or discarded. The library accepts no responsibility for the return of unsolicited items.

Other faculty libraries

Philosophy syllabuses overlap at certain points with those prescribed by many other faculties, and in consequence coverage overlaps with libraries serving other faculties and departments, such as Politics, Economics, Theology, English, Modern Languages, History. Provision for some  joint courses may be shared between relevant libraries, or , by arrangement, adopted by one specific library. The use of the OLIS ordering system ensures that any duplication of stock is intentional. Libraries share reading lists, accession lists and reports of most-used books.

Central Bodleian

The Central Bodleian holds the principal library resources to support research and teaching in philosophy at the University. The library’s policy is to maintain the wide scope of existing holdings and their capacity to support academic activity in this field at the highest level. A very substantial proportion of relevant material, including virtually all UK publications and many American academic titles, is received by legal deposit, and the library aims to add non-UK material systematically by purchase and exchange. The Bodleian Library’s collections are of national and international importance, used by students and scholars from all over the world. The library’s acquisitions reflect this wider rôle.

Adequacy and priorities in selection

Philosophy is covered from ancient times to the present day. The library’s policy is to acquire the following:

(a) Scholarly editions of the works of all significant philosophical writers, in their original languages and in English if available.

(b) New philosophical writing which carries weight with scholarly opinion, selected on the same linguistic basis as in (a).

(c) Scholarly treatments of individual philosophers, of philosophical schools, of the history of philosophy and of methods of philosophical enquiry. Other areas of study include, but are not restricted to: aesthetics; epistemology; ethics; gender studies; metaphysics; philosophy of language; philosophy of religion; political and social philosophy; epistemology and metaphysics; ethics; aesthetics; political and social philosophy; and the philosophy of religion. Acquisition is extensive in English, complementing items received by legal deposit; rather more selective in Western European languages; in Eastern European languages selective and only where related to major indigenous philosophers and the history of philosophy in the country concerned; and in non-European languages only in exceptional cases.

(d) Scholarly journals and monographic series, on the same basis as in (c).

(e) Bibliographies, specialist encyclopedias, biographical and other reference works, on the same linguistic basis as in (c).

(f) Where not chosen for the library under (a) – (e) above, items selected in consultation with the Committee for Library Provision  in Philosophy, or by the Philosophy Librarian,  for the open-shelf collections maintained to support undergraduate and taught postgraduate courses in philosophy.

The Bodleian Library will always seek to secure a level of funding sufficient to permit the adequate discharge both of its national and of its university roles. In the event of a significant reduction in the real level of acquisition funding, the general principle is that material considered essential to the University's current and anticipated research interests will be accorded the highest level of protection against the consequences of any fall in funding. 

Open shelf policy

The Central Bodleian aims to provide access on open shelves to a copy of every classic philosophical text, and all books, journal issues and other material in philosophy that is in frequent use by Senior or Junior Members. In pursuit of this aim, and subject to spatial constraints, its policy is to provide the following material on open shelves:

a) important works of reference; encyclopedias, dictionaries of philosophy, bibliographies etc.

b) texts and commentaries; the philosophical works of all major philosophers, in the original language and English translation, together with the most widely-used commentaries on them. Whenever the space expands or contracts, the range of authors and texts covered under this heading will be reviewed by the library staff in collaboration with the Philosophy Librarian and the Committee for Library Provision in Philosophy.

c) material prescribed for study by examination regulations, unless it is held in the Radcliffe Science Library or Bodleian Law Library.

d) Runs of the major philosophy periodicals (generally from 1970),  unless held in the Radcliffe Science Library or Bodleian Law Library. The starting date may be amended at the discretion of the Superintendent of the PPE Reading Room, or the Philosophy Librarian, and is to be regularly reviewed by Committee for Library provision in Philosophy  (next review 2005).

e) material on the Philosophy Faculty core reading lists for undergraduate and taught graduate courses, unless it is held in the Radcliffe Science Library or Bodleian Law Library.

f) material on individual tutors’ reading lists for undergraduate and taught graduate courses, unless it is held in the Radcliffe Science Library or Bodleian Law Library.

g) Other material selected by the Committee for Library Provision in Philosophy or by the Philosophy Librarian.
 
Ancient philosophy is located in the Lower Reading Room. Philosophy of religion is located in the Lower Camera. Other areas of philosophy (with the exception of those covered by the Radcliffe Science Library and Law Library, see below) are located in the PPE Reading Room.

Non-book media

Non-book media are not at present covered by legal deposit, although publishers occasionally deposit items such as CD-Roms or videos associated with a book. There is no policy of video acquisition at present. See below under Electronic Resources for CD-Roms etc.

Donations

The Bodleian Library’s policy on donations is stated in 'DONATIONS Supporting Document to Collection Management Policy Statement'

Approved by the Curators of University Libraries, 23 September 2002

[Oriental philosophical writing will be dealt with in the context of policy for Oriental Studies in general, and is also referred to in the statement for Theology and Religious Studies. Coverage of ancient philosophy is also referred to in the statement for Classical Studies, and of linguistic theory in the statement for Linguistics].

Radcliffe Science Library

The Radcliffe Science Library holds the science collections of the Bodleian Library. The Radcliffe Science Library is responsible for acquisition (including the receipt of legal deposit materials) in the philosophy of science; the philosophy of mathematics; logic;  philosophy of logic; bioethics;  the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of psychology.

Bodleian Law Library

The Bodleian Law Library is responsible for acquisitions (including the receipt of legal deposit materials) in the philosophy of law.

In the selection and funding of networked electronic datasets, in philosophy as in other subjects, academic and library staff work in conjunction with the Electronic Resources Committee, which holds a budget for networked resources allocated by the Curators of the University Libraries Service. The Philosophy Librarian aims to promote the acquisition  of  bibliographical tools and on-line texts in philosophy, and to support and encourage their use.

Committee for Library Provision in Philosophy, revised, May 2004.
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