Purpose and Program Description

The Libraries seek to support research and teaching in all fields of anthropology including socio-cultural anthropology, and to a limited extent physical anthropology. The collection supports the needs of undergraduate, MA/MS and PhD students, the teaching faculty, post-docs and research staff members.

In 1997 the department added several new faculty members and graduate student enrollment increased.

Areas of established concentration are: the cultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and physical anthropology of a wide spectrum of world areas, studied from various theoretical viewpoints and encompassing such specializations as social structural theory, economic and ecological anthropology; medical anthropology, change and development, women's studies, urban anthropology, evolution and genetics, primate studies, state formation, and ethnohistory.

General Selection Guidelines (See classed analysis for detailed statement)

Overall, the Libraries’ existing collection and acquisitions commitment, based upon available resources, for Anthropology are at the study and teaching level. Its collecting goal, however, is at the research level.

Specific Delimitations

1. Formats collected: We collect monographs, annuals, reference tools and scholarly series extensively; periodicals, CD-ROMs and other electronic tools, and videocassettes selectively; textbooks and dissertations (other than Columbia dissertations), not at all.

2. Imprint Dates Collected: We collect current publications extensively, and earlier materials, selectively.

3. Chronological Focus: All periods.

4. Languages Collected: We collect English language materials extensively and non-English language materials, selectively. (See also Area Studies statements).

5. Place of Publication: We collect North American materials extensively and other materials, selectively. (See also the Area Studies statements.)