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Bibliography and Library Science

Collection Policy Statement Index

(Classes Z and ZA)

I. Introduction
II. Scope
III. Research strengths
IV. Comparison with other major research collections
V. General policy
VI. Collection levels for Library Science and Bibliography

I. Introduction

This Collections Policy Statement refers to two categories of resources. The first is Library Science (classes from Z through Z1000.5, and ZA), including materials on the history, philosophy, and technicalities of writing, printing, publishing, book collecting, the book and serial trades, libraries, library and information science, anonyms and pseudonyms, and databases and computer files. Paleography and calligraphy are included within "writing"; technicalities of hardware systems are generally excluded from "databases and computer files" (see policy statements covering QA and TK classes). ZA is the new (1996+) classification for works on "general sources of information" not confined to any specific topic, as well as general works on information theory and how to find information.

The second category is Bibliography: General, including descriptive, critical, and analytical (Z1001-1199), National (Z1200-4999), Subject (Z5000-7999), and Personal (Z8000-8999).

II. Scope

For the many subjects related to the production, history, philosophy, description, and organization of graphic (including microform, electronic and other formats) records of human expression--herein collectively designated "Library Science"--the Library will acquire a deep and extensive collection of published materials of a scholarly nature that contain new information, research, or analysis. Virtually all commercial monographs and serials in Library Science subject areas that are deposited for U.S. copyright protection shall be added to the collections. Foreign materials, including especially the publications of national libraries and international library organizations, shall be acquired through exchange agreements and purchase.

The following materials shall be generally considered out-of-scope for permanent retention: promotional literature from commercial vendors, in-house documents from other libraries (except insofar as contained in commercial collections such as ERIC microfiche), newsletters, and serials of mainly local interest. Publishers' catalogs are not kept (except insofar as commercially compiled in microfiche or other sets, organized and bibliographically controlled). A small number of catalogs of prominent antiquarian dealers and auction house catalogs are cataloged for the collection.

Since Columbia University is no longer collecting in this area, the Library of Congress will generally include, rather than exclude, library science textbooks in its collections.

The Library acquires copies of all published bibliographies documenting the existence of publications from countries or regions, including all catalogs of the holdings of national libraries, and union lists of any sort.

Recognizing that subject bibliographies, and those listing works by or about individual people, that are compiled by scholars usually contain information that cannot be duplicated by computer searches, the Library shall seek to acquire comprehensive collections of subject and personal bibliographies. All such bibliographies deposited for U.S. copyright protection shall be added to the collections. No reasonably substantive bibliographies of any sort shall be excluded. The Library shall also seek to acquire systematically foreign Subject and Personal bibliographies (excluding vanity, clinical medicine, and technical agriculture, except those reflecting a primarily historical focus).

III. Research strengths

For all of the various subclasses of Z outside of "Libraries and Library Science"--i.e., for the "Bibliography" sections of Class Z--the most recent edition of the North American Title Count indicates that the Library of Congress has the largest reported holdings in the country. In the 1990 RLG Conspectus, too, which recorded collection strengths only in the National Bibliography (Z1201-4999) subset of Bibliography as a whole (Z1001-8999), LC consistently reported level 5 (Comprehensive) collection rankings.

An additional strength of the Library is it own archives. This rich collection of manuscripts and internal documents is an unparalleled resource for the study of LC's role in both influencing and determining library practices throughout the nation and the world.

IV. Comparison with other major research collections

According to the 1997 North American Title Count, LC has the largest collections for any of the various subdivisions of Class Z among participating libraries. (One exception: in Classes Z4-14 [History of Books and Bookmaking], both the University of Illinois and Purdue University report larger collections.)

According to the 1990 RLG Conspectus survey in the area of Library and Information Sciences (defined as Z662-1000), the Library of Congress is rather consistently ranked as level 4 (Research level), and never drops below level 3 for any of the Z Class subjects. According to the same Conspectus study, the other preeminent collection for these subjects was, at the time, that of Columbia University. With the closure of its library school, however, Columbia has "frozen" this collection and no longer collects substantively in any of these areas, thereby increasing the importance of the Library of Congress's collecting comprehensively in this area. .

V. General policy

The Library shall acquire:

All important current and retrospective monographs, serials, and reference works in all languages in Library Science as outlined in the Library of Congress Classification (Classes Z through Z1000.5 and ZA).
All published bibliographies, in all languages, whether General (Z1001-1199), National (Z1200-4999), Subject (Z5000-7999), or Personal (Z8000-8999).

VI. Collection levels for Library Science and Bibliography

LC Classification	Subject	Collecting Levels
Z-Z115	Books (General). Writing. Paleography United States Foreign	5 4
Z116-Z659	Book Industries and Trade United States Foreign	5 4
Z662-Z1000.5	Libraries. Library Science. Information Science. United States Foreign	5 5

(Note: Annual reports shall be collected from national libraries and major research libraries.)

LC Classification	Subject	Collecting Levels
Z1001-Z1121	General Bibliography	5
Z1201-Z4999	National Bibliography	5
Z5000-Z7999	Subject Bibliography	5
Z8000-Z8999	Personal Bibliography	5
ZA	Information Resources (General)	4

Approved August, 2000

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