Purpose and Program Description

The Libraries seek to support research in both the linguistic and literary aspects of the discipline, including the teaching of basic and advanced language skills, grammar and syntax, the history of the language, French and Romance philology, and a detailed study of major literary authors and their works. It supports the needs of undergraduate, MA/MS and Ph.D. students, the teaching faculty, post-docs, and researchers.

Changes in user population in the past five years included a decided increase in the number of undergraduates in the Department, and new and expanding interest in the areas of women’s studies, African and Caribbean literature, Quebec authors, literature as the basis for film, Marxist-psychoanalytic theory, and semiotics.

Areas of established specialization include extensive coverage of all centuries, beginning with advent of French as a literary language, but especially strong in 18th century authors, the symbolists movement, 20th century authors, and more recently, structuralist, semiotic and postmodernist studies. Complete sets of collected works, especially definitive editions, are collected as are most of the important periodicals and monographic series in the field. Thorough coverage of the various aspects of the French language--its history, grammar, phonetics, morphology, syntax, rhetoric, style, composition, lexicography and philology--is maintained.

General Selection Guidelines (See classed analysis for further details)

Overall, the Libraries’ existing collection and collecting goal for French Language and Literature are at the research level while its current acquisitions commitment, based upon available resources, is at the study and teaching level.

Specific Delimitations

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

2. Imprint Dates Collected: We collect current publications extensively and 20th, 19th, and earlier centuries selectively.

3. Chronological Focus: We collect materials focusing on current, 20th, 19th, and earlier century topics extensively.

4. Languages Collected: We collect French and English extensively. Western European languages are collected selectively, and all other languages are excluded.

5. Place of Publication: We collect materials published North America (excluding Mexico) and Western Europe extensively. All other geographic areas of the world are collected selectively.