Collection Development Policies: Chemistry

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY
Subject: CHEMISTRY

Program Description

The Chemistry Department offers both the BA and BS degrees to undergraduates. Both degrees offer the opportunity to obtain a concentration in secondary teacher certification. The MS degree in chemistry offers either experimental and/or theoretical research in the following fields of specialization: analytical, bio-chemistry, environmental, inorganic, organic, organometallic, physical, chemical physics, and materials science.

A cooperative program with Geology offers a PhD in Geological Sciences with a concentration in geochemistry. There is also a Chemistry option in the PhD program in Materials Science and Engineering.

Description of Existing Collection
NCIP Code: 3a

The chemistry collection is classified in QD. Books and journals support the basic program needs, but more coverage is needed for advanced specialties and interdisciplinary areas. Cutbacks in the breadth of collecting started in the late 1980's, recent book coverage has been quite narrow in scope and the journal cuts have left some holes in UTEP's overall coverage of chemistry. The reference collection and electronic information resources need to be coordinated with the chemistry department's in-house resources in order to most efficiently support the department's instructional and research programs.

Current Collecting Intensity
NCIP Code: 3a

Current acquisitions are supporting the basic chemistry collection, but advanced interdisciplinary and research areas are lacking appropriate coverage, especially in the journal collection. The entire serials collection needs to be reviewed and revised to provide appropriate support for the current program needs of the department.

Desired Collection Level
NCIP Code: 3c

Additional monographs and journals are needed in specialty and interdisciplinary areas. Current monograph purchases are split between basic program needs and research needs, leaving both aspects weaker than appropriate.

Other Resources

The library subscribes to Chemical Abstracts' Scifinder-Scholar system.

                                    Last updated:   March 20, 2003