- Acquisitions
- Cataloging Tools, Documentation
- Catalogs, Authority Records
- Classification
- Cooperative Programs
- General, Descriptive Cataloging
- Products for Purchase
- Professional Activities
- Publications, Reports
- Subject Headings
Subscribe
Receive an e-mail when a new issue of the Library of Congress Cataloging Newsline is available.
Collection Policy Statement Index
(Subclass Q and selected portions of Z)
Contents
I. Scope
II. Research strengths
III. General policy and collecting intensity levels
I. Scope
This section of the Collections Policy Statement on Science and Technology covers the subclass Q (Science, General) and applicable subclasses of Class Z. The Library's collections in this class encompass nearly 44,000 titles. In addition, some of the numerous abstracting and indexing services, catalogs of other scientific libraries, specialized bibliographies, and finding aids for general science are classed in Z, those relating to the role of science in the developments of civilization are classed in CB, and those relating to the telecommunication aspect of information theory are classed in TK5101+
II. Research Strengths
The Library's collections in general science are particularly strong in the history of science, scientific exploration, the lives and contributions of scientists, and the role of science in society. For a discussion on collecting guidelines in the history of science, please consult Chapter A, History of Science and History of Technology.
The Library's runs of 18th- and 19th-century scientific serials in all languages and its collections of the Transactions, Proceedings, Bulletins, and Memoirs of scientific societies and institutions, from every part of the world, provide a chronicle of scientific investigation, inquiry, and deliberation that is encyclopedic in its coverage. This collection, for the most part classed in the general science schedule, is a legacy of the Smithsonian and copyright deposits and represents one of the most extensive records of scientific investigation and research. Add to this the reports of scientific exploring expeditions (Lewis and Clark, Humboldt, Murray, and Wilkes) and the many voyages of discovery (HMS Endeavour, HMS Challenger, HMS Discovery, Albatross [steamer], and Grampus [schooner]), and one has a near comprehensive view of the pursuit of scientific knowledge available through these genre.
Another area of distinction in the Library's general science collections is its holdings of materials summarizing the contributions of scientists to the community of knowledge. This multi-faceted/multi-formatted collection of biographical materials recording the scientific accomplishments, achievements, and the personal and public lives of scientists is vast and covers all periods of science from classical antiquity to modern times. While book-length biographies, autobiographies, and membership directories are usually classed by subject, collected biographies, those appearing in the publications of scientific societies, institutions, and organizations, and biographical memoirs are generally classed in Q. Also classed in Q are the chronologies, milestones and landmarks of science, most of which are directly tied to the triumphs, conquests, and achievements of a single scientist or groups of scientists.
Science policy, the federal/private sector support/promotion of scientific research, the dissemination of scientific and technical information, and the importance of science in the national interest are areas in which the Library has also collected heavily both to support the work of the Congress and to further scientific inquiry. The collections of materials defining the relationship between science, the scientific community, and society as well as the application of scientific research and knowledge to improve the lives, lot, and well-being of the world's citizenry are likewise considerable. While the general science collections contain the deliberations of governmental bodies throughout the world, the emphasis is on US agencies, commissions, scientific associations, and foundations that sponsor and fund scientific research. Materials on scientific enterprise, scientific instrumentation, information and communications systems, and science education are extensive as are materials that support the view that basic research and fundamental science are important to the development of international competitiveness and economic growth. The papers and writings of Vannevar Bush, Alan Waterman, William T. Golden, Harvey Brooks, Joshua Lederberg and Jerome Wiesner and the reports of science and technology advisory organizations and commissions analyzing science policy questions and administrative decision-making in the light of accelerating scientific and technological developments are considerable and add texture and understanding to the big science/little science debate.
III. General policy and collecting intensity levels
The Library seeks to maintain a research-level collection (intensity level 4) of current reference works, monographs, and general science serials. These include directories of research institutions, laboratories, and scientists, histories of science, biographies, works describing the results of and support for scientific research and exploration, textbooks, the importance of science to society, science literacy and the communication of scientific information, cybernetics, artificial intelligence, and information theory. Works on museums and exhibitions, laboratory manuals, problems and exercises, and syllabi are acquired selectively (intensity level 2). Materials on science fair projects, science experiments, and school science activities are collected at an instructional support level (intensity level 3).
The Library's general science collections are particularly strong in both foreign and English language materials and contain a preponderance of serials, including the proceedings and transactions of most major scientific societies and institutions worldwide. The major sources for reporting scientific research within a country, e.g., Nature, Science, Revue Scientifique, Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau, are included as are those representing regional interests or specific scientific institutions attached to universities, natural history societies, or museums. Also represented globally in the general science collections are the organization of scientific research within a given jurisdiction or country, government/state support of science, scientific activities, and policies regulating these. Materials related to the history of science, scientific method, the process of science--creativity, basic research and development, accountability, ethics, communication, the dissemination of scientific results--as well as materials describing major scientific advances, achievements are well represented in the general science collection. Also collected broadly (intensity level 4) are materials gauging the contribution of science to specific national goals and broad national welfare, those monitoring significant developments and trends in the scientific enterprise, including international comparisons, and those providing appraisals of U.S. science, and those discussing research and development policy-setting within federal agencies and other organizations.
Artificial intelligence, natural language processing, cybernetics, and information theory are collected widely (intensity level 4), in many languages, and in many formats. Much of the literature relating to these topics can be found in journals, conference proceedings, technical reports, as well as machine-readable formats. The stupendous increase in computational capability, along with new ways of computing, have caused the literature in these fields to grow exponentially.
Science, General, Class Q
| LC Classification | Subject | Intensity |
|---|---|---|
| Q1-Q4 | Periodicals: | |
| English | 4 | |
| European | 4 | |
| Asian | 3 | |
| Other languages | 3 | |
| Q10-Q99 | Society publications: | |
| English | 4 | |
| European | 4 | |
| Asian | 3 | |
| Other languages | 3 | |
| Q101 | Museums, exhibitions | 2 |
| Q113 | Scientific voyages and expeditions | 4 |
| Q125 | History of science | 5 |
| Q127 | Science policy | 4 |
| Q130 | Women in science | 4 |
| Q141 | Biography | 4 |
| Q160 | Textbooks, general science | 4 |
| Q164 | Science experiments | 3 |
| Q170 | Creativity, fraud | 3 |
| Q170.5 | Philosophy of science | 4 |
| Q179 | Study and teaching | 3 |
| Q180 | Research, national laboratories | 4 |
| Q184 | Instruments and apparatus | 3 |
| Q225 | Science and society | 4 |
| Q300 | Cybernetics | 4 |
| Q335 | Artificial intelligence | 4 |
| Q350 | Information theory | 4 |
