Human development
Statement of programs and library needs
Human Development, formerly known as Family and Child Development, has been a separate department since 1982, and offers the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees.
The department's programs are planned to provide thorough preparation in the research and theory of human development as an applied behavioral science. The department's major emphases are on the physical, mental, and social changes individuals experience throughout the human life cycle and the needs occasioned by these changes, and on the analysis of the modern family and provision for its needs. Both extremes of the life cycle--early childhood and advanced age--are of keen interest.
At the graduate level, students are trained either for careers in academic teaching and research or as practitioners in such areas as marriage and family therapy, gerontological services, or early childhood education. Fully accredited programs in marriage and family therapy are offered. The department supports a variety of field experiences and promotes research and practicum opportunities through the Adult Day Care Center; Center for Family Services; Center for Gerontology; Child Development Laboratory; and Family and Work/Life Resources Center.
The literatures of interest to faculty and students in family and child development are widely scattered. There is a strong need for supporting materials in psychology. Resources in education, sociology, women's studies, and certain aspects of medicine and law are also required.
I. Collection areas
A. Area: Family and Child Development
B. Classes and Levels
BF 712-724 Developmental Psychology Research BF 721-724 Child Psychology. Adolescence Research HQ 503-1059 Family. Marriage Research HQ 1060-1064 Gerontology (Social aspects) Research HQ 1101-2030.7 Women. Feminism Research HR 251-291 Social Psychology Research HV 841-851 Day Care Study LB 1051-1140 Educational Psychology, Child Study Research QP 86 Old Age--Physiology Study RC 488 Family Psychotherapy Study RC 952-954 Geriatrics Study RJ Pediatrics Study
C. Chronology
Emphasis is on 20th century materials, particularly those published since 1980. Historical materials on marriage and the family are collected, as are classic works on counseling in the family setting. Materials with a physiological base are not generally collected retrospectively.
D. Geographic Guidelines
Primary emphasis is on materials published in the United States. Theoretical works or works from a cross-cultural perspective are collected from other English-speaking countries and Western Europe, but works on intervention and counseling practices are collected only when there appears to be potential application to American practice.
E. Languages
English is the primary language of the collection.
F. Treatment
Family and child development is a highly interdisciplinary area, drawing in its distinctive manner on materials from psychology, sociology, and education. Emphasis is on materials--monographs and journals--of a scholarly nature. Practical materials on intervention and counseling practices are also acquired fairly heavily in both print and video or other electronic formats, but with an eye to the credibility of authors and publishers and the utility of materials to professional practice. Books of readings are acquired selectively. Very few book-length bibliographies are acquired, though print and electronic indexes in serial format are kept strong.
G. Formats
Primarily print for monographs and most journals, though electronic full-text is also of growing importance for journals. Bibliographic databases are available through the Internet. This is a discipline in which quality videos are frequently produced, and in recent years the Libraries have acquired a good number upon faculty request.
H. Multiple copies
Multiple copies of heavily used titles, especially those of a more serious nature, are acquired as funds permit.
II. Acquisition Strategy
The College Librarian for Education and Human Development selects materials for purchase, with priority being given to faculty requests. The libraries maintain an approval plan for books from many university press and significant trade publishers as well as standing orders for many important serials. The Libraries receive on subscription a substantial number of the English language periodicals indexed in Sociological Abstracts, PsycInfo, Social Science Index, and The Family Studies Database. Significant gifts of material the libraries do not already own are rarely received, but duplicate copies of frequently used titles are occasionally added by gift.
Federal documents from the Bureau of the Census, Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services provide data and secondary materials of interest to the area of family and child development. These materials are received on deposit from the Government Printing Office.
III. Collection Notes
Lower division college textbooks are not ordinarily purchased; upper division textbooks are acquired selectively, as are works written on a popular level. Theses and dissertations from other universities are obtained upon request for PH.D students. Resources which support other disciplines, such as psychology, gerontology, sociology, and various aspects of biology, medicine, and law support the curricular and research interests of faculty and students in family and child development.
Revised 10/2000
