Scope and Purpose:
A library collection to support the curriculum and research of the department of English needs great diversity at both an advanced and an initial level. The linguistics, poetry, and literature of England, America, and the English-speaking world are emphasized, especially that of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The literature of the United States and Great Britain is collected at the advanced study level while that of the remainder of the English-speaking world is acquired at the initial study level. Coverage of English language linguistics and composition theory is desired at the advanced study level. Collections need to be especially strong in satire and literary criticism and theory and in individual American authors to support seminars.
Curriculum:
Writing courses are provided in several areas: poetry, fiction, script writing, and technical or professional writing. Appreciation of poetry, fiction, and drama and film are also taught in introductory courses. Courses on Shakespeare, the early English language, the Bible as literature, and women's studies are important to the department's curriculum. Courses covering the works of important individual writers, both British and American, are offered annually. Other course areas include popular culture, science and detective fiction, Gothic literature, and travel literature.
Geographical Coverage:
The collection is about eighty-five percent the literature of England and the United States with the remainder is literature of other English-speaking countries, especially Australia, Africa, and Canada.
Language:
The collection is almost completely in English. Modern European and Latin American fiction is taught in translation as are Greco-Roman classics. Some criticism and commentaries are acquired in European languages on occasion.
Period Coverage:
The collection is about fifty percent the literature of nineteenth and twentieth century England and America. The eighteenth century is about ten percent, the seventeenth century about five percent, Shakespeare and his contemporaries are approximately fifteen percent, and early English including Anglo-Saxon about five percent. The remaining collection is divided between the Old and New Testament of the Bible, rhetoric and linguistics.
Publication Types:
Scholarly works, research reports and data, critical and historical treatments, and extensive holdings of poetry and fiction, especially the major American and English authors are the publication types acquired.
Formats:
The great majority of this collection is in printed books. The audio-visual emphasis is on collecting the film or videotape productions of printed literary works and the phonotapes and records of poets reading their own works; these comprise about ten percent of the collection. Journals, principally criticism, account for another ten percent of the printed resources.
Remote Sources:
The Center for Research Libraries provides strong support for much of the research originating in this department with its holdings of less prominent journals and literary works.