Collection Development Statement
English & American Literature
Written by English Selectors Committee:
Jeris Cassel
Gil Cohen
Jean Crescenzi
Catherine Geddis
Kevin Mulcahy, Chair
Revised March 2, 1993
A. SYSTEMWIDE SUBJECT OVERVIEW
A.1. Type and Level of Program Supported at Each Campus
New Brunswick: PhD, MA, BA.
Newark: MA, BA.
Camden: MA, BA.
A.2. Selectors (Current list of names of selectors is available on the University Network INFO.)
New Brunswick:
Alexander Library--English and American Literature Selector* Douglass Library--Humanities & Literature
Selector Kilmer Area Library--Literature & Language Selector
Newark:
Dana Library--English Language Literature & Humanities Selector
Camden:
Robeson Library--English American Literature Selector
A.3. Purpose
To support research and instruction in English and American literature (and other literatures in the English language--including African, Australian, Canadian, and Indian), to support research and instruction in literary theory and literary history in the English language, and to support preparation of teachers of English language and literature.
The Rutgers libraries are committed to supporting research and instruction in an expanded and shifting canon of authors, including writers from traditional canons, but also a more fair and extensive selection of the primary and secondary literature of women, people of color, and writers of different class backgrounds or sexual orientations. Further use of the term "canon" in this document refers to this larger group of authors. The collection development policy is guided both by research and instruction at the university and by the evolving national and international patterns of research in English and American Literature.
Furthermore, because of the granting of certificates in Women's Studies by the Women's Studies Department to graduate degree recipients in the English Department, there is a special emphasis on collecting works by and about women and works of feminist theory. Overlaps exist with the Women's Studies collection policy to the extent that titles are interdisciplinary in nature.
Collection development in English and American Literature at Rutgers is complicated by the presence of three graduate programs (in New Brunswick, Newark and Camden), which makes it especially important to have regular consultation among selectors. In general terms, selection at Newark and Camden is more closely tied to the graduate (and undergraduate) curriculum than as it is at Alexander. As the primary research collection in English and American Literature, Alexander Library serves the needs of all students and faculty at Rutgers University. Major research collections (for example, the Early English Books microfilm sets) will normally be acquired by, and housed at, Alexander and made available to all of the Rutgers libraries.
There will be some justifiable duplication of primary and secondary texts in Camden, Newark, and New Brunswick. Alexander differs from Dana and Robeson in the depth of its collection of critical texts and in its inclusion of research materials like manuscript facsimiles. There are areas of specialization at Camden and Newark, due to faculty and student interest, which may or may not be duplicated in New Brunswick. The Robeson and Dana Libraries, for example, will collect extensively in Black American Literature, Robeson will collect heavily in Whitman studies, and Dana will collect extensively in Science Fiction.
Located on the New Brunswick Campus along with the Alexander Library, the Douglass and Kilmer libraries have literature collections designed to serve the needs of undergraduates, in particular, undergraduates in 100 and 200 level courses. Primary texts used in courses and to some basic critical texts and general bibliographies are the foci of these libraries. In addition, both libraries collect world literature in translation as appropriate for curricular purposes. Because of the history of Douglass College and its role as the research collection in Women's Studies, Douglass Library will give special emphasis to literature by and about women. The Kilmer Area Library will give some emphasis to primary literature by African-Americans and to some basic critical texts in that area. Duplication of these materials at Alexander will be minimal unless actual or potential use dictates duplication.
A.4. Resource Sharing Arrangements or Limitations: No special arrangements.
A.5. History
A.5.a. New Brunswick
English courses in New Brunswick date back to the founding of the various New Brunswick Colleges. The first graduate English courses were taught at Rutgers College in 1939-1940. The PhD curriculum was instituted in 1947-48, and the first PhD granted in 1950. Thus Alexander Library has served as the principal collection for the English Department since its opening in 1952.
A.5.b. Camden
English courses on the Camden Campus date back to 1951. The M.A. Program in English began in 1976, aided by a special allocation of $10,000 from General University Book Funds in 1973 to expand the collection to a level more suitable for a graduate collection.
A.5.c. Newark
The English and American Literature collection at the Dana Library goes back to the founding of Dana College in 1930. In 1946 the University of Newark became the Newark Campus of Rutgers under the legislation that established Rutgers as the state university. In 1967-1968 the English Department established the M.A. in teaching, and in 1971-1972, the M.A. in English. More recently, the Graduate School in Newark established the M.A. in Liberal Studies. The library has attempted to keep abreast of these developments by acquiring a significant amount of literary criticism along with canonical primary works.
A.6. Location of Materials
A.6.a. New Brunswick
A.6.a.i. Alexander Library
--houses the principal research level collection for New Brunswick and the university as a whole. The 1990 shelf-list count gives a total of 94,614 items in the primary LC classes for literature in English; and there are 589 current journals charged to the English and American literature fund. The collection also includes a number of major microfilm collections, including Early American Imprints, Early English Books (Series I & II),The Eighteenth Century, and Three Centuries of English and American Plays, which effectively add tens of thousands of titles to the University Library collections.
A.6.a.ii.
Special Collections & Archives--located within the Alexander Library, houses major collections of rare books, manuscripts, and other special items, including the extensive contemporary editions of Defoe and Cobbett as well as contemporary works of Shakespeare, Dickens, Mellville, Whitman, Joyce, Milton, and numerous other English and American authors. Numerous contemporary editions of New Jersey writers of nineteenth and twentieth centuries as well as nearly a thousand novels set in New Jersey.
The Manuscript Collection include numerous literary collections, especially the J. Alexander Symington Collection of Nineteen and Early Twentieth British authors; papers of New Jersey writers, including Whitman, and Joyce Kilmer; Children's Literature Collection; papers of Paul Foster and other playwrights, directors, and actors associated with Off-Broadway theater. For more, see the Special Collections and Rare Book Statements.
A.6.a.iii.
Douglass Library--contains an undergraduate collection in literature, but also the research collection in women's studies. The 1990 shelflist gives a total of 28,682 items, and there are no current subscriptions for literature. Some of the women's studies journals contain literary scholarship.
A.6.a.iv.
Kilmer Area Library--It contains an undergraduate collection in literature. The 1990 shelflist counts gives a total of 18,779 items and there are 12 current subscriptions.
A.6.b. Camden
Robeson Library--The collection supports a Master's level program in English and the undergraduate program in Camden. The 1990 shelflist count gives a total of 27,857 items and there are 179 current subscriptions.
A.6.c. Newark
Dana Library--The collection supports a Master's level program in English and the undergraduate program in Newark. The 1990 shelflist gives a total of 30,945 titles, and there are 109 current subscriptions.
B. COLLECTION GUIDELINES
B.1. Language Guidelines
B.1.a. New Brunswick
B.1.a.i.
Alexander Library--Primarily an English language collection. Purchases of scholarly or critical studies of English language literature written in other languages will be acquired quite selectively for the Alexander Library. Most literary theory written in languages other than English will be purchased by the appropriate language selector. English language translations will normally be purchased by the Alexander selector responsible for the original language. Translations of English literature into foreign languages will normally not be acquired. They will be acquired only in cases where the Libraries have a comprehensive collection of an individual author such as Defoe.
B.1.a.ii. Douglass and Kilmer Library--English only.
B.1.b. Camden--English only.
B.1.c. Newark--English only.
B.2. Chronological Guidelines
B.2.a. New Brunswick
i. Alexander--No restrictions.
ii. Douglass--Emphasis on 20th Century
iii. Kilmer--Emphasis on 20th Century
B.2.b. Camden
Robeson--English literature for all periods; American Literature for primarily the 19th and 20th centuries.
B.2.c. Newark
Dana--English language literature for all periods; primary emphasis on the 19th and 20th Centuries.
B.3. Geographical Guidelines
B.3.a. New Brunswick
i. Alexander--all areas for English language. Definite priority given to literature of United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States; second priority to Canada, Australia, India, African, and Caribbean literature written in English.
ii. Douglass--Priority given to the United States, the Caribbean, and to English Literature outside of Great Britain as related to women's literature.
iii. Kilmer--Priority given to the United States and the Caribbean.
B.3.b. Camden
Robeson Library--Emphasis on English, American, and Irish literature.
B.3.c. Newark
Dana--Emphasis on English, American, and Irish literature. Growing interest in Caribbean and African literature in the English language.
B.4. Treatment of Subject
B.4.a. New Brunswick
B.4.a.i. Alexander Library
Primary sources:
Alexander seeks to be comprehensive in its collection of primary works within the canon in all appropriate published formats. There is selective acquisition of current creative works. Works likely to be acquired include those works of fiction, poetry, drama, or prose that have been favorably reviewed in important journals, that have won literary awards, that are published by reputable publishers, or that have been written by artists of established reputation. Certain contemporary authors have already effectively been incorporated into the canon and are thus collected at a comprehensive level. Acquisition of other primary sources, such as facsimile editions of early printed editions or manuscripts, will be quite selective, with emphasis given to major writers.
Alexander Library is quite selective in its acquisition of "popular literature" or "genre fiction" such as science fiction, mysteries, romances, westerns, spy novels, etc. Priority is given to acquiring primary works by established and representative writers in these genres to support curricular purposes. Criteria for selection of such work will include the reputation of critics, editors, and publishers; the importance to the genre of the writer (or literary theme or form) represented; and favorable critical reviews. In areas of popular literature where another Rutgers Library is committed to collecting, Alexander will not duplicate unless there are specific curricular or research demands for such duplication.
Secondary sources:
Alexander Library also seeks to be comprehensive in its acquisition of secondary works relating to literary periods, genres, movements, critical theories, and writers within the canon. Included are literary histories, scholarly biographies, biographies and memoirs by contemporaries, primary and secondary bibliographies, critical monographs, and collections of essays. Alexander will be more selective in its acquisition of popular biographies and "appreciations" aimed at a general audience. Acquisition of research tools like concordances will also be selective, emphasizing major writers and major texts. With reference to "popular" and "genre" fiction, scholarly and critical studies-- including primary and secondary bibliographies, literary histories, biographical dictionaries, and other tools of scholarship--are acquired.
B.4.a.ii. Special Collections and Archives
Unit attempts to acquire all contemporary editions of Daniel DeFoe and William Cobbett and selected editions of other British writers such as Baxter, and Milton for Rare Book Collection. English and American literature selector also purchase works for Rare Book Collection. Walt Whitman materials are generally purchased by the Whitman Center in Camden.
Contemporary editions of New Jersey writers and all novels set in New Jersey are collected comprehensively.
Major efforts are underway to build literary manuscript holdings in the Off-Broadway Theater Collection, The Women's History Archives, and the papers of New Jersey writers. Manuscripts are regularly accessioned to the Children's Literature Collection. For more, see Special Collections and Rare Book Statements.
B.4.a.iii. Douglass and Kilmer Libraries
These undergraduate libraries will concentrate on primary texts and introductory level criticism; more sophisticated critical texts will be the responsibility of Alexander. In addition, Douglass will collect performance texts of contemporary drama to support the Mason Gross School of the Arts. Kilmer will emphasize writings by African-Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans related to undergraduate instruction.
B.4.b. Camden
Materials for the Robeson Library will be acquired if basic for a graduate level collection, if needed to support instruction, and if use dictates that the material be available on the Camden Campus. Literary/critical theory, feminist theory, rhetoric, writing techniques, linguistics, teaching the language, and the history of the English language will be collected. Currently published creative works and popular literature will be collected very selectively.
B.4.c. Newark
The Dana Library will collect the standard editions of the writings of major and selected minor English, American, and Irish writers as well as selected biographical, critical, and bibliographical works on these authors. Dana will also selectively collect primary and secondary texts of English- language Caribbean and African writers of curricular and research interest. Works relating to literary periods, movements, and genres, and works of literary history will be selected as appropriate to support graduate and undergraduate programs and courses. Dana collects in science fiction--including both primary works and works of criticism and scholarship.
B.5. Types of Material
B.5.a.
Standard reading editions as well as paperback editions should be acquired for the undergraduate collections and added copies. In research collections, scholarly editions, other significant editions, autobiographies, published diaries, and published correspondence will be acquired. Manuscripts and personal papers will be housed in Special Collections and Archives.
B.5.b.
Video tapes will be acquired primarily to support instruction (e.g. the BBC Shakespeare plays); most other films and videos will be acquired on Media funds (and all films, videos, and sound recordings will normally be housed in the Media Library).
B.5.c.
Acquisition of relevant electronic resources should be coordinated with the Center for Electronic Texts in the Humanities (C.E.T.H).
B.6. Strengths and Weaknesses:
The nature of the Rutgers libraries collections in English and American literature have been seriously affected by the University's unique history and geography. Funding that might have sufficed for one strong collection has been diffused among five collections, and new graduate programs have been established without sufficient attention to the library resources needed. In particular, in the research collection, there is a strong need for ongoing retrospective collection to fill in gaps in serial holdings and to add primary and secondary texts.
The libraries' book and serial holdings are, however, significantly strengthened by extensive microform holdings in books, serials, and newspapers at Alexander Library. Noteworthy collections include Early English Books, Series I & II, The Eighteenth Century, Early American Imprints, English Literary Periodicals, Early British Periodicals, American Periodical Series, and Early American Newspapers--all of which serve enormously to strengthen Alexander's collection of primary materials. System-wide access to these materials is impeded by the lack of analytics for most of these collections. Priority should be given to providing analytics on the online catalog which would thus make the collections at Alexander a more valuable resource for faculty and students on all campuses.
In addition, Alexander should work with Special Collections to add to existing strengths in the Defoe and Cobbett collections, and to acquire selectively in other areas. Gifts that extend the libraries holdings of primary and secondary texts should be aggressively pursued, and some portion of the budget should be dedicated to retrospective collection development each year.
C. COLLECTION RESPONSIBILITIES BY SUBJECT SUBDIVISION
| Subdivision | Exist | Current | Assignment | |
 | ||||
| ENGLISH LANGUAGE | 3 | 3 | ALEX/doug/kilm | |
| 2 | 2 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Eng. Lang: Old Eng. Anglo Saxon | 3 | 3 | ALEX | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Eng. Lang: Middle English | 2 | 2 | ALEX | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Eng. Lang: Early Modern | 2 | 2 | ALEX | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Eng. Lang: Modern | 3 | 3 | ALEX | |
| 2 | 2 | Dana | ||
| 2 | 2 | Robe | ||
| English Language: Dialects & Provinc. | 3 | 3 | ALEX | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Eng. Lang: Slang, Argot, Vulgarisms | 2 | 2 | ALEX | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| ||||
| ENGLISH LITERATURE | 3 | 3 | ALEX/doug/kilm | |
| 2 | 2 | Dana | ||
| 2 | 2 | Robe | ||
| Eng. Lit: Anglo-Saxon | 3 | 3 | ALEX | |
| 2 | 2 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robev | ||
| Eng. Lit: Anglo-Norman Early Middle English | 3 | 3 | ALEX | |
| 2 | 2 | Dana | ||
| 2 | 2 | Robe | ||
| English Renaissance Prose & Poetry | 3 | 3 | ALEX | |
| 2 | 2 | Dana | ||
| 2 | 2 | Robe | ||
| Eng. Lit: Renaissance Drama | 3 | 3 | ALEX | |
| 2 | 2 | Dana | ||
| 2 | 2 | Robe | ||
| Eng. Lit: 17th & 18th c. | 3 | 3 | ALEX | |
| 2 | 2 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Eng. Lit: 19th Century | 3 | 3 | ALEX | |
| 3 | 3 | Dana | ||
| 2 | 2 | Robe | ||
| Eng. Lit: 20th Century | 3 | 3 | ALEX | |
| 3 | 3 | Dana | ||
| 2 | 2 | Robe | ||
| Eng. Lit: Folklore & Folk Literature | 2 | 2 | ALEX | |
| 2 | 2 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Eng. Lit: Provincial & Local | 2 | 2 | ALEX | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Eng. Lit: Provincial & Local--Ireland | 2 | 3 | ALEX | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Eng. Lit: Provincial & Local--Wales | 1 | 1 | ALEX | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Canadian Literature | 2 | 2 | ALEX | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| English Lit. Outside of Great Britain--Latin America | 2 | 2 | ALEX/doug/kilm | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Anglo-African Literature | 2 | 2 | ALEX/doug | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Anglo-Indian Literature | 2 | 2 | ALEX | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Australian Literature | 2 | 2 | ALEX | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Eng. Lit: New Zealand | 2 | 2 | ALEX | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Eng. Lit: West Indies | 2 | 2 | ALEX/doug | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| ||||
| AMERICAN LITERATURE 3 | 3 | ALEX/doug/kilm | ||
| 2 | 2 | Dana | ||
| 2 | 2 | Robe | ||
| Am Lit: Colonial | 3 | 3 | ALEX | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Am Lit: 19th Century | 3 | 3 | ALEX | |
| 2 | 2 | Dana | ||
| 2 | 2 | Robe | ||
| Am Lit: 20th Century | 3 | 3 | ALEX/doug/kilm | |
| 2 | 2 | Dana | ||
| 2 | 2 | Robe | ||
| Am Lit: Folklore & Folk Literature | 3 | 3 | ALEX/doug/kilm | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Afro-American Literature | 2 | 2 | ALEX/doug/kilm | |
| 2 | 2 | Dana | ||
| 2 | 2 | Robe | ||
| Native American Literature | 1 | 1 | ALEX/kilm | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Hispanic | 1 | 1 | ALEX | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Special Genres & Types of Am & Eng Lit | 2 | 3 | ALEX | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Special Genres & Types of Modern Poetry | 2 | 3 | ALEX | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Special Genres & Types of Little Magazines | 2 | 2 | ALEX | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Special Genres & Types of Science Fiction | 1 | 2 | Alex | |
| 2 | 2 | DANA | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Special Genres & Types of Westerns | 1 | 2 | ALEX | |
| 2 | 2 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Special Genres & Types of Historical Fiction | 2 | 2 | ALEX | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Special Genres & Types of Detective & Mystery | 1 | 1 | ALEX | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Special Genres & Types of Comic Books, Strips, etc. | 1 | 1 | ALEX | |
| 1 | 1 | Dana | ||
| 1 | 1 | Robe | ||
| Translations of English and American Lit. | 1 | 1 | ALEX | |
| 0 | 0 | Dana | ||
| 0 | 0 | Robe | ||