Receive an e-mail when a new issue of the Library of Congress Cataloging Newsline is available.

More about this feature

History (Unites States Only)

Collection Policy Statement Index

(Classes E, CT as appropriate, Z1236-Z1249, Z8000 as appropriate)

I. Introduction
II. Scope
III. Research strengths
IV. Comparisons with other major research collections
V. General policy
VI. Collection levels for United States history

I. Introduction

This Collection Policy Statement is based on the second of the Library's three "Canons of Selection": "The Library should possess all books and other materials (whether in original form or copy) which record the life and achievement of the American people." History is generally understood to be a chronological relation of important events, usually with an attempt to explain their relationships, significance, and causes. John Higham, in his History: Professional Scholarship in America (Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989, p. ix.) writes, "Any story about human experience that tries to exclude fable and error in the interest of truth has a claim to the name of history." This policy statement includes reference works, monographs, and serials about the history of the United States on the national level from pre-Columbian times to the present, whether in inkprint, microform, or machine-readable format.

II. Scope

Core materials covered by this statement comprise the collections in Class E and closely related materials in Class CT (U.S. Collective Biography), Class Z1236 -- Z1249 (Bibliography of U.S. History), and materials relating to individuals prominent in U. S. history in Class Z8000

(Personal Bibliography). Class E includes materials which document the political, social, intellectual, cultural, diplomatic, military, or ethnic history of the United States of America as a nation. More specialized topics included in Class E are works on elements of the population. Histories and discussions of ethnic groups such as East Indians, Irish and Poles are included here, as are histories and discussions of minority religious groups. The history of Native Americans north of Mexico, as a whole and as tribal groups, is covered. Works on African-American history in E class include regional and state histories, as well as the history of slavery and of anti-slavery movements in the United States and in the individual states. Specialized monographs and serials on the various periods from the European discovery of the Americas to the present fall within Class E, as do works on special subjects or problems of U.S. history. Works relating primarily to religious history, economic history, political science, or literary history are classified with materials in Classes B, H, J, and P, respectively.

Works on the history of women, gays, and lesbians in the United States are classed in HQ.

Works on the history of the regions, states, and cities of the United States are classed in Class F, with the exception of the Hawaiian Islands, which are classed in DU.

Works on the constitutional and legal history of the United States, as well as biographies of judges and lawyers, are classed in KF.

III. Research strengths

The Library's collections in American history are comprehensive and include a complete range of domestic and foreign critical writing about the United States, its history, policies, culture and peoples. In addition to the myriad of titles housed in the general classified collections, special strengths include the vast holdings of U. S. Government publications, American newspapers, and American doctoral research (the latter in microform). Many early American imprints and first editions are held in both the general and rare book collections. These holdings are supplemented by microform reproductions of titles not owned in the original by the Library.

IV. Comparison with other major research collections

Although the Library's American history collections are both unique and truly inclusive, there are other libraries with extensive book collections in this subject. For example, the New York Public Library and the Chicago Public Library house major book collections for general U.S. history. For the study of specific time periods or spheres within American history, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Wyoming, and Yale University maintain significant collections for the American West. The history of the South is well-represented in the holdings of both Duke University and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The William Clements Library (University of Michigan), Alderman Library (University of Virginia), and the John Hay Library (Brown University) have developed very strong collections in the colonial and revolutionary periods. Although LC collects comprehensively for American military history, unique collections also exist at the U.S. Army Military Historical Institute (Carlisle Barracks) and the service academies.

The state libraries and public libraries in major urban centers retain materials important to their geographical area. Institutions associated with smaller religious denominations, cults, and non-western religions have more extensive collections. For example, literature about the Amish and Mennonite groups is heavily collected by the Bluffton College Library, Bluffton, Ohio, and the libraries in Utah retain vast holdings on the Mormons.

Small and alternative presses are important to the study of American social and economic history. Although the Library collections are strong overall in this area, other institutions retain extensive holdings for specific subjects. For example, Temple University retains a collection of underground and alternative press titles published after 1960, and the University of California, Los Angeles, maintains an extensive collection of 20^th century American pamphlets and other ephemera for the study of American social opinions.

V. General policy

The Library collects comprehensively (intensity level 5) current reference works, monographs, serials, and textbooks (published commercially in the US) on United States history regardless of format.

Doctoral dissertations accepted by universities in the United States, preferably in microform, are collected comprehensively by the Library; special consideration is given to acquiring foreign dissertations relating to the history of the United States. Theses are not acquired unless they make an original contribution to knowledge. See Collections Policy Statement Dissertations and Theses.

VI. COLLECTION LEVELS FOR UNITED STATES HISTORY

Class	Subject	Collecting Levels
CT	General collective or individual biography, as appropriate	5
E11-E29	America (General); works comprehensive in Scope	5
E31-E46	North America; works actually comprehensive in Scope.	5
E51-E99	Indians.	5
E101-E139	Discovery of America and early explorations.	5
E141-E143	Descriptive accounts of America to 1810.	5
E151-E180	United States (General).	5
E181-E183.9	U.S. Military, Naval, Political, and Diplomatic history.	5
E184-E185.98	Elements in the population.	5
E186-E199	Colonial history.	5
E201-E298	Revolution.	5
E301-E440.5	Revolution to the Civil War.	5
E441-E453	Slavery in the United States. Antislavery movements.	5
E453-E655	Civil War.	5
E660-E738	Late Nineteenth Century.	5
E740-	Twentieth Century.	5
Z1236-Z1249	Bibliography of United States history.	5
Z8000	Individual bibliography as appropriate	5

Approved August, 2000

Subscribe