Anthropology

Introduction
Selection criteria

• General scope
• Geographical area and language
• Format

Collection strengths

• Manuscripts
• Official publications

Collection development policy review for Anthropology

Introduction

The general policy for this subject is to collect to research level in the area of social/cultural anthropology, with the intention of as comprehensive a coverage as resources allow. Research level is defined as one where independent research with the published sources can be pursued. Exclusions and qualifications to this policy are mentioned below and in the General Policy Statement: see Principles of collection policy and Criteria for selection. 

The policy for developing the collections in anthropology needs to be seen within the context of the complete acquisitions policy. The interdisciplinary nature of the social sciences and its publications means that subject boundaries cannot always be easily determined and described in isolation. This is particularly true of social/cultural anthropology, the boundaries of which merge into politics, economics, sociology, religion, and other disciplines.

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Selection criteria

General scope

An outline is given below, but in general terms the Library's overall policy is to collect in the areas of social, cultural, economic and political anthropology.

The following is an outline of the subject scope and coverage of collecting policy for Anthropology:

Ethnography and ethnographic methods.
Economic anthropology. Division of labour; property, ownership; distribution of goods and services.
Social organisation. Sex roles; family, life cycle; kinship; social stratification.
Religion and ritual. Belief systems.
Political and legal anthropology. Types of political organisations; social control.
Psychological anthropology.

Exclusions: Physical/biological anthropology; archaeology and studies of human origins; folklore; material culture [some material on tribal art is collected]

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Geographical area and language

World wide coverage is not attempted, but collections focus on the following areas: Europe, Africa, Middle and Far East, South East Asia, India, South America, Australasia and the Pacific. Other areas, are collected more selectively.

Material is acquired in the major European languages ; works in non-European languages are not normally acquired

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Format

No distinction is made regarding format of material. The Library will therefore collect relevant material in print, microform, electronic format (eg CD-ROM), and video.

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Collection strengths

• Manuscripts

Social anthropology is one of the core subjects in the Archives Division's collecting policy. Its holdings include the papers of Bronislaw Malinowski (including field notebooks and photographs from the Trobriands), C.G. and Brenda Seligman, Phyllis Kaberry (including fieldwork records from Papua-New Guinea and Cameroon), Siegfried Nadel (fieldwork records from Nigeria, Sudan and Ethiopia), Audrey Richards (fieldwork records from Tanzania and Uganda), Isaac Schapera (fieldwork records from Botswana) and the Archives of the International African Institute. Accessions currently in progress include the papers of Maurice Freedman and Sir Raymond Firth.

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• Official publications

The Library's extensive collections of governmental and intergovernmental publications from around the world contain some important source material for research in social anthropology. Of particular note are the publications of the French Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique d'Outre-Mer (ORSTOM).

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Collection development policy review for Anthropology

This collection development policy will be reviewed on a regular basis in the light of the following: developments in teaching, the interests of the Department of Anthropology and other departments in the School, and relationships with other libraries with whom collaborative arrangements exist. Such reviews will be conducted in cooperation with the Department of Anthropology.

Reviewed 02/05

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