STAFF RESOURCES |
Written by Irwin Weintraub
Agriculture Resource Librarian
Library of Science and Medicine
November, 1994
Revised August 1995
Approved
Majors program in Agricultural Sciences:
Agricultural Science: BS
Animal Science: BS, MS, PhD
Bioresource Engineering BS (Five year program), MS
Biotechnology: BS, Core Curriculum to supplement PhD program
Entomology: MS, PhD
Plant Pathology: MS, PhD
Plant Science: MS, PhD
Minors:
Agroecology, Animal Science, Entomology, Environmental and Business Economics, Equine Science, Food Science, Health Care, Human Ecology, Marine and Coastal Sciences, Meteorology, Natural Resource Management, Nutrition, Plant Science, Professional Youth Work, Science/Agriculture Teacher Education
Certificate Programs:
Environmental Planning
Environmental Resource Monitoring
Social Strategies for Environmental Protection
International Agriculture/Environment
Agriculture and related disciplines at Cook Campus are currently being handled by the Agriculture Resource Librarian at the Library of Science and Medicine on Busch Campus.
The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Cook Campus in New Brunswick offers degree programs in the life, environmental, marine and coastal, and agricultural sciences. Students may choose from 27 major fields of study in agricultural science, animal science, bioresource engineering, biotechnology, entomology, plant science, plant pathology and teacher education with 70 options within the majors. Students may also choose to minor in a secondary area. Graduate programs offer Masters and PhD degrees with opportunities for research in formal and interdisciplinary approaches. Available options include agricultural science, agricultural production, agricultural teacher education, agricultural economics and agricultural engineering. The agriculture curriculum prepares students for employment in industry, research, education and government programs. Wide ranging research programs are carried out by faculty and students independently and in cooperation with the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station in production agriculture, aquaculture, human health and nutrition, and environmental and natural resources management. Six important priority areas for research in the 1990s are biotechnology, environmental science, food science and nutrition, intensive production agriculture, marine science and social and economic policy.
Rutgers Cooperative Extension Service provides educational programs at the grass roots level. Extension personnel in the State's 21 counties provide practical information and leadership on problems and programs relating to agriculture and the environment, management of natural resources, nutrition and health, family and economic well being, and youth development. They are supported by extension specialists at Cook College who assist in preparing and disseminating information to the State's rural and urban citizens. The Extension Service provides a comprehensive program of short courses and symposia for a broad and diverse clientele.
The Library of Science and Medicine will develop collections designed to meet the needs of advanced levels of instruction and research and dissertation research at the Master's and Doctorate levels. A library collection in agriculture should cover a wide range of materials on all aspects of production of plants and animals for human consumption. Such a collection cannot be restricted to simple materials outlining procedures for milking cows or planting seeds. Agriculture is a discipline of great diversity which encompasses biological, chemical, and social sciences, and various theories and procedures involving economics and business. All these components must be considered when building strong agricultural collections. One cannot measure the strength of an agriculture collection by its size. A more accurate measure would take into account the kinds of essential and supplementary materials that comprise it. Nevertheless, there are subject areas which are crucial to agriculture that must be addressed when making collection development decisions.
Agricultural Sciences at Rutgers may be divided into the following groups:
Interlibrary Resource Sharing : No special arrangements.
The lack of a library on the Cook campus created a problem of accessibility for students and faculty seeking materials for instruction and research. Consequently, Douglass Library undertook the responsibility of acquiring a collection of materials in agriculture and natural resources primarily for undergraduate students who needed access to a nearby facility. At the same time, LSM continued to collect scholarly and research level materials to serve the information needs of upper level users. This created a situation in which patrons sometimes had to go to Douglass and LSM when doing extensive research since the resources they needed were at both locations. The Library of Science and Medicine now serves as the primary location for materials in agriculture for all Cook campus users. However, some databases, journals, and a sizeable book collection in agriculture are still housed at Douglass, however materials in the scientific aspects of agriculture and natural resources will be acquired by LSM.
Library resources covered in this policy are located at the Library of Science and Medicine.
Entomology Library - The Bailey B. Pepper Entomology Library is located in the Department of Entomology and Economic Zoology at Cook Campus. The Entomology Library contains a core collection of monographs, journals and indexes and abstracts which serve the students and faculty of that Department. Materials for that library are selected by the Agriculture Resource Librarian in consultation with the library liaison in the department. It is a small collection which attempts to provide materials that will keep students and faculty aware of new knowledge in the field. About 15 or 20 books per year are purchased for the collection, others are received as gifts and added to the collection when appropriate. Most of the resources in Entomology, however are located at LSM and some titles are duplicated at Entomology and LSM. Entomology resources in the LSM collection cover insect biology, structure, function, ecology, toxicology, taxonomy and behavior. Insect plant interactions, integrated pest management and biological and chemical control, are germane to the collection and included when necessary.
The bulk of the resources cover agriculture in North America. However, there are substantial works covering Europe and Asia and a smaller number covering Australia, Africa and India. For example, tropical agriculture, smallholder production, arid lands, women, and minorities in agriculture often deal with settings in developing countries.
Definition
Agriculture comprises the entire range of technologies associated with the production of useful products from plants and animals, including soil cultivation, crop and livestock management, aquaculture, and the activities of processing and marketing.
Animal Science deals with the selection, breeding, nutrition and management of animals for economic production of meat, milk, wool, hides, and other animal products. Horses for draft and pleasure, and bees for honey production may also be included . The disciplines applicable to animal science include, chemistry, physiology, anatomy, genetics, nutrition, parasitology, and pathology.
Plant Science is concerned with the raising and management of crop and ornamental plants including those grown and used directly for food, feed, or fiber; those converted biologically to useful products, and those used for medical and special purposes. Plant science applies knowledge of biochemistry, physiology, ecology, morphology, anatomy, taxonomy, pathology and genetic engineering.
Entomology is the scientific study of insects. Insecta is the largest single class of animals composed of about 700,000 known species with new species being discovered continually. The discipline applies knowledge of taxonomy, ecology, behavior and physiology. There are two main subdivisions of entomology:
Aquaculture includes the husbandry, management, nutrition, and multiplication or breeding of all useful aquatic organisms. It involves the exploration and improvement of all aquatic food resources, both floristic and faunistic, from freshwater, brackish, and marine environments, related directly or indirectly to human consumption. Aquaculture is mainly concerned with fish, crustaceans, molluscs and algae.
Collection Responsibility
a. General - Subject responsibility at LSM is concentrated mainly in the scientific and technological aspects of agriculture. These include animal science, plant science, entomology, soils, fertilizers, agricultural products, aquaculture and fisheries, food science and nutrition. Related materials in chemistry, physics, biology, natural history, conservation, ecology and pollution, genetics, natural resources, and marine science are included when applicable.
b. Sustainable agriculture - Instruction and research in sustainable agriculture is becoming an integral part of American agriculture. It is a philosophy which advocates agricultural production systems that are environmentally sound, economically viable, and socially responsible that do not exploit land or people. It is a holistic system which reduces or eliminates the need for chemical or nonrenewable inputs in agricultural production. The Snyder Farm of Rutgers Agricultural Experiment station carries out research on sustainable agriculture for the farmers of New Jersey. Courses on sustainable agriculture have been added to the curriculum in animal and plant sciences and will continue to grow as it expands nationwide. Resources covering sustainable agriculture and the components that comprise holistic systems are necessary to support this expanding agenda. Some monographs, periodicals and abstracts have been added to the collection to support sustainable agriculture at Rutgers. As new materials and new philosophies of sustainable agriculture are available, LSM will attempt to acquire them to keep students and faculty aware of new developments.
c. Farming alternatives - There is a growing interest in alternative enterprises among small scale farmers who want to remain in farming but are unable to compete with large scale, conventional farms. Farming alternatives (also called "alternative farming" or "new crops") involves the production of food and animal products that are available mainly for small or specialty markets. Enterprises such as the raising of miniature pigs for pets and recreation, exotic breeds, buffalo, deer, ostrich, emu, or llama production, and specialized grains and medicinal herbs such as safflower, flax, mustard, amaranth, canola, crambe, mungbean, milkweed, and others are quickly gaining popularity. Provisions for alternative enterprises have appeared in the commodity programs of recent farm bills. Resources on alternative enterprises will be acquired for the collection upon request or and to support instruction or research on particular alternative production systems.
d. Biotechnology - Biotechnology is transforming agriculture in many ways. It is providing new strains and varieties which are hardier, disease and insect resistant and have special characteristics. Selective breeding and management techniques are employed to improve and expand the food supply. Biotechnology has its supporters and detractors and much has been published on this subject. LSM will acquire scholarly materials in agricultural biotechnology which are relevant to the work being done at Rutgers. To balance the coverage, works by both critics and supporters should be acquired to provide users with an understanding of the impact of biotechnology for present and future generations.
Criteria for Inclusion/Exclusion Following are some of the areas in which LSM will not collect or will collect selectively.Materials to be acquired will consist of basic monographs, government documents, core serials, abstracts and indexes and appropriate online databases and CD-Roms. These materials should be geared to graduate and advanced students and faculty. They should include significant seminal works, relevant retrospective materials and classic bibliographic items that are of major importance. This need will be filled by acquiring basic and advanced materials with a scientific and technical approach. Monographs, conference proceedings, annual reviews and periodicals and reports will be considered priority acquisitions for the advanced instructional needs.
Research level materials will support dissertation preparation and independent research. These materials consist of reports on original research, specialized monographs, conference and symposia proceedings, a wide range of serials including scholarly, learned societies, national academies, association and trade publications, and relevant indexing and abstracting sources in a variety of formats.
Reference materials consisting of encyclopedias, glossaries handbooks and bibliographies will be acquired to serve as sources of additional information useful to students and researchers. Acquisition of reference items should be broad and flexible to allow for widest possible coverage.
Reports, government publications, publications of non-governmental organizations and newsletters often present issue specific information which may not be available in standard sources. Topics such as production of new crops, agricultural production strategies, and prominent social issues such as farm subsidies, family farms, factory farming, pesticides, and environmental concerns may be covered in these publications. LSM is a depository for science oriented agencies such as the US Department of Agriculture and its divisions, Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, etc. The reports and publications of these agencies offer a wealth of information which complements the standard monograph and periodical resources that are used regularly. These government publications offer our users access to a wide selection of materials that expand the information universe available to them.
a. Plant Science - The collection is strong in all areas of plant sciences including horticulture, crops, soils, floriculture, plant diseases, plant breeding and the role of plants in the environment. The plant science periodicals cover aspects of the discipline from general to specific aspects thus offering comprehensive coverage for most plant science specialties.
b. Animal Science -The collection of works in animal sciences are moderate and can use some improvement in the areas of production, care and management of livestock (i.e. dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep and swine). These are mainly basic animal production works for instructional support. Research materials on animal science appear mainly in periodicals which present a research and scholarly level of coverage. Works on domestic poultry and game production are insufficient. More works on the production, care and management of poultry and the processing of poultry products need to be added. Many of the works in the animal sciences are old, newer editions are available but were not acquired due to budget limitations.
Users usually consult periodical literature for the most current information. Thus, when budgets are tight, the importance of obtaining new editions of monographs may be overlooked in deference to periodicals. Attempts will be made to provide the new editions in plant and animal sciences as budgets permit.
c. Equine Science - Pleasure horses and horse racing are an important part of New Jersey agriculture. This industry generates $750 million of agribusiness revenue annually. It is crucial that works in equine science be available to offer the latest in horse rearing and training techniques. Research level coverage of equine physiology, pathology, and nutrition appear in the periodical literature at LSM. More scholarly monographs in equine science are needed at LSM and will be acquired when available. However, those covering veterinary medicine geared toward horses will be acquired selectively. Attempts will be made to add scholarly works on raising, care, management and training of horses in order to bring the collection up to date.
d. Aquaculture and fisheries - New titles in aquaculture and fisheries are being added. The collection contains both basic items on fish and seafood production in natural and artificial environments. A growing collection of monographs and high quality periodicals cover this subject extensively. The collection will continue to grow to meet the instruction and research needs in Marine and Coastal Sciences.
e. Periodicals - The strong periodical collection is strong and many users rely upon it to keep up to date in their disciplines. Popular and research titles cover a wide range of interests and specialties in agriculture from around the world.
| AGRICULTURE COLLECTING LEVELS | |||
| LC CLASS | Subject | Current | Existing |
| AGRICULTURE (GENERAL) | |||
| QR 111-113 | Soil microbiology | 2 | 3 |
| S530-559 | Agricultural education and extension | 2 | 3 |
| S583-589 | Agricultural chemistry, physics, ecology, pollution | 2 | 3 |
| S590-S599 | Soils. Soil Science | 3 | 4 |
| S600-600.7 | Agricultural Meteorology Crops and Climate | 2 | 2 |
| S602-604.37 | Methods and systems of culture. Cropping systems | 2 | 3 |
| S604.5-621 | Agricultural conservation and Reclamation | 3 | 3 |
| S622-667 | Soil conservation, fertilizers, soil improvement | 3 | 4 |
| S671-760 | Farm machinery and farm engineering | 2 | 2 |
| S770-790 | Agricultural structures. Farm buildings | 1 | 1 |
| PLANT SCIENCE | |||
| SB107-112 | Economic botany, Methods for special areas including dry farming, irrigation and tropical agriculture | 2 | 3 |
| SB113-139 | Seeds and seed culture | 3 | 3 |
| SB170-317 | Tree crops, food crops, field crops | 3 | 3 |
| SB317-401 | Horticulture (vegetables, fruits, orchards) | 3 | 4 |
| SB403-450 | Flowers and ornamental plants | 3 | 2 |
| SB451-467 | Gardens and gardening | 2 | 2 |
| SB469 | Landscape gardening. Landscape architecture. | 2 | 2 |
| SB599-998 | Pests and diseases. Plant pathology, Agricultural zoology. (includes Entomology Library) | 4 | 4 |
| ANIMAL SCIENCES | |||
| SF1 -84 | Animal Culture. | 2 | 3 |
| SF84-92 | Livestock handling and transportation. | 2 | 2 |
| SF95-99 | Feeds and feeding.Animal nutrition. | 3 | 3 |
| SF105-109 | Animal Breeding. | 2 | 3 |
| SF191-221 | Beef cattle and Meat production | 2 | 3 |
| SF223-275 | Dairy cattle and dairying | 3 | 3 |
| SF277-359 | Horses | 3 | 3 |
| SF361-390 | Donkeys, mules, sheep, goats, swine | 2 | 3 |
| SF402-405 | Fur bearing animals | 2 | 2 |
| SF481-507 | Poultry & Egg Production | 2 | 3 |
| SF518-561 | Insect rearing & bee culture, silk culture, and other insects. (Includes Entomology Library) | 3 | 3 |
| SF600-1100 | Veterinary medicine | 3 | 3 |
| AQUACULTURE AND FISHERIES | |||
| SH1-191 | Aquaculture (including mariculture, fish culture, frogs, leaches, etc. | 3 | 3 |
| SH201-399 | Fisheries | 33 | |