Collection Development Policy
History & Philosophy of Science (HPS)

PROGRAMS AND CLIENTELE SUPPORTED:

The Program in the History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) at the University of Notre Dame is one of a handful of interdisciplinary programs in the United States that offer graduate degrees, both the M.A. and Ph.D., in the joint fields of history and philosophy of science. Since HPS degrees incorporate requirements in the two tracks, history or philosophy, they draw on the resources of the University in philosophy, history of science, theology, the Medieval Institute, and the natural and social sciences. The intellectual arena spans the cosmologies of ancient Babylonia and Greece to the physics, biology, medicine, and technology of the 19th century. Particular emphasis is given to the changes in the natural sciences and the conception of science constituting the "Scientific Revolution" of the 17th century.

HPS's interdisciplinary character aligns its curriculum and readings closely with the programs and collections of several other Institutes and Departments at the University. These include; the Medieval Institute for medieval natural philosophy; the Philosophy Department for philosophical issues relating to the nature of scientific explanation, criteria of proof, observation and theory-ladenness, ontological import of scientific theory, as well as issues in the development of specific fields of science, i.e., quantum mechanics, evolutionary biology, and economics; the Center for Philosophy of Religion; and the Reilly Center for Science, Technology and Values.

SUBJECT LIAISON:

Joseph T. Ross
Subject Liaison
102 Hesburgh Library
(574) 631-5835
Ross.40@nd.edu
FAX:  (574) 631-6772

CONSPECTUS:  Yes

GENERAL COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES:

Languages:  The majority of the material collected is in English, followed by materials in French and German. This is true both for original texts and secondary scholarly works. To support ancient classical treatises in the history of science, some works in Greek and Latin are also obtained.

Chronological:  Historical material from all periods are collected. The core titles in classical antiquity and the middle ages are covered by the respective departments and institutes with HPS acquisitions only serving to supplement the collections. Focus is given to the early modern authors from the Enlightenment through the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly in astronomy, physics, natural history, and biomedical sciences.

Geographical:  Regions of interest are primarily in the United States and Western Europe, with concentration in Britain and France.

Treatment of Subject:  Emphasis is on original texts, critical editions, scholarly commentaries, anthologies, reference works, and biographies. Since HPS is interdisciplinary a wide area of subjects are treated, e.g., history of technology, history of medicine, and history of science.

Types of Material Format:  For the most part, only printed materials are acquired for monographs and journals. Microformat for older material does constitute an important part of the collection and will so in the future.

COORDINATION GUIDELINES:

The interdisciplinary nature of the program requires careful planning and coordination with the departments and institutes (history, philosophy and the Medieval Institute) to ensure that titles crossing departmental lines are picked-up. Fortunately, this also means that titles important to HPS can on occasion be covered by one of the other departments and/or institutes. This is especially true for retrospective collecting which is inadequately covered by current funding level for HPS.

Typically, science departments proper collect current treatises and technical literature, excluding historical treatments of their discipline. Consequently, HPS cannot depend upon these collections to form the core of its program. Moreover, there is potential danger that branch libraries may weed "older" or aging material in favor of currency. These titles may be essential to the HPS Program. Coordination between HPS and the branch libraries is thus vital.

COLLECTING LEVELS:

Subject	LC Class	Collecting Level
General Science
General Works	Q105-Q113	2
History	Q124.6-125.2	3
Biography	Q130-143	3
Early Works	Q151-157	3
Methodology & Philosophy	Q174-179	3
Mathematics
Philosophy	QA7	2
History	QA21-35, 141.2, 152-155.7	3
Geometry	QA440-463	2
Topology	QA611-614.97	2
Analytical Mechanics	QA801-808	2
Astronomy
History	QB1-42	3
Astronomical Instruments	QB84.5-115	3
Practical & spherical	QB140-145	2
Theoretical & celestial      mechanics	QB349-353	3
Descriptive Astronomy	QB495-500.25	3
Physics
History. Periodicals. General	QC1-20	2
Weights & Measures	QC81-87	2
Electricity & magneticism	QC501-528,610-611.4	2
Geophysics. Cosmic physics	QC801-809	2
Atomic Physics. History	QC170-172,173.5-174.13	2
Chemistry
History	QD1-22	1
Alchemy	QD23-31.2	1
Physical & Theoretical	QD450-462	1
Geology
History	QE11-26	2
Minerology	QE351-364	2
Paleontology	QE701-707	2
Paleobotany	QE901-905	1
Natural History
Periodicals. Reference Tools	QE1-14	2
History. Biography	QH15-35	3
Pre-Linneaen Works	QH41	2
Works of Linneaus. General	QH43-45	1
Microscopes. History	QH204-212	2
Biology
Philosophy of biology	QH331-332	2
Social Aspects of Biology	QH333	1
History & Condition	QH301-307	2
Evolution. Darwin	QH359-366	3
Genetics	QH426-438	1
Botany
History	QK15-46	2
Classification. Nomenclature	QK91-97	2
U.S. General Works	QK115	3
Zoology
History	QL1-45v2
Anatomy	QL801-805	2
Human Anatomy
Dictionaries & Encyclopedias	QM1-7	1
History & Biographies	QM11-21	1
General Works	QM21-23	1
Physiology
General Works	QP1-31	1
History & Biography	QP21-29	1
Early Works through 1800	QP29	1
Microbiology
Dictionaries, Encyclopedias	QR1-11	1
Classification. Nomenclature	QR12-13	0
History & Biographies	QR21-31	1
Medicine
General Works	R5-130.5	2
History of Medicine	R131-149	3
Medical philosophy & ethics	R722-725.59	2
Public Aspects of Medicine
Medicine and the state	RA1-418	2
Medical Sociology	RQ418-418.5	2
Medical Education	R735-854	2
Pharmacy. Materia medica.	RS61-73	1
Technology
General Works. Philosophy	T1-44	3
Social Aspects	T14.5	2
History of Technology	T15-20	2
History of Engineering	TA15-20	2
Chronological Classification
Classical Antiquity		1
Middle Ages		3
Middle Ages/Byzantium		3
Islamic Culture		1
The Far East		1
Renaissance and Reformation		2
17th century		3
18th century		3
19th century		2
20th century		2

 

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Only a few subjects are treated exhaustively, e.g., primary and secondary materials for Charles Darwin, secondary works to support the Greene and Zahm collections in the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. Areas excluded would generally be the applied sciences of the LC Classes represented here. Changes in the faculty over the last several years have resulted in changes in the area of focus. Some past collection strengths have not been maintained, e.g., ancient medicine and science, optics, while newer interests are being reflected in current collecting.

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