Purpose and Program Description

The Libraries seek to support the interdisciplinary curricular and research needs of undergraduate and graduate students, through the Ph.D. level, and faculty, postdocs and researchers, in evolutionary biology, population biology, environmental biology, ecology, systematics, and conservation biology. While these subjects have always been of interest at Columbia, their systematic study became of paramount interest following the 1994 creation of the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation. The Center’s stated goal is to train the next generation of environmental professionals, practitioners as well as leaders. The Center’s undergraduate program in Environmental Biology seeks to provide its students with a strong foundation in biology, environmental science, systematics, ecology, population biology, and biodiversity conservation. The Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Ph.D. program is designed to provide the broad scope of education needed to describe, understand and conserve the Earth’s biological diversity in all its forms.

General Selection Guidelines (See classed analysis for further details)

Overall, the Libraries’ existing collection, its current acquisitions commitment, based upon available resources, and its collecting goal are all at the research level.

Specific Delimitations

1. Formats Collected: We collect annuals, monographs, periodicals, reference tools and scholarly series extensively. Audio-visual materials, CD-ROMs and other electronic tools are collected selectively. Dissertations, maps, and newspapers are excluded.

2. Imprint Dates Collected: We collect current and 20^th century publications extensively and 19^th and earlier centuries are excluded.

3. Languages Collected: We collect English extensively and all other languages selectively.

4. Place of Publication: We collect materials published in North America and Western Europe extensively and all others selectively.