SFU Library Economics collections policy

The Department of Economics provides a range of courses on economic theory, economic history, economic development, econometrics, and various other branches of economics such as natural resource economics and monetary economics.  Research by the faculty is similarly varied: examples of topics include the economics of crime and punishment, the impact of environmental regulation on the economy, the regulation of financial institutions, public policy towards business, and developing/transition economies.  The SFU Library collects materials to support the courses, research, and goals of the Department of Economics.

Economics Degrees are offered at the undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels.  Students may choose to study toward a minor in economics, or they may pursue a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in either the major or honours programs.  Joint majors are available with business, geography, political science, and Latin American studies.  Moreover, there is a joint honours program with business administration.  Above the undergraduate level, the Department offers Master of Arts (MA) and PhD degrees with courses in all major branches of economic research and discourse.

The Department is also involved with research centres of the Canadian Institutes for Advanced Research Program in Economic Growth and Policy, and of the Research on Immigration and Integration in the Metropolis (RIIM) group.

Collection development is the responsibility of the Economics Liaison Librarian.  Liaison with the Economics Department is maintained through the Departmental Representative as well as with other faculty members when required.  Regular contact with other liaison librarians and teaching departments is nurtured through the sharing of relevant review material.

SFU Resources

The W.A.C. Bennett Library is the major location for the University's economics collection.  In addition, due to the multidisciplinary nature of the field, there is a wide overlap with other SFU Library collections such as business administration, political science, and mathematics.

Regional Resources

The University of British Columbia also has a large economics collection comprehending many branches of the discipline.

Consortia and Document Delivery

SFU belongs to three consortia (Electronic Library Network; Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries; and the Canadian Association of Research Libraries).  Document delivery agreements exist with all three of these consortia which allow delivery of journal articles and books from these libraries in a timely manner.  Holdings and direct requesting from over 40 libraries are accessible through the Interlibrary Loan Web page and from many databases.
 

General Collection Guidelines

Languages: the emphasis is on the acquisition of materials in English.
Chronological guidelines: as the collection supports both historical and current research, materials covering all chronological periods will be collected.
Geographical guidelines: the international nature of economics coursework and research mandates that materials dealing with all countries and regions be collected.  There will, in addition, be specific focuses on materials that concern British Columbia and Canada.
Treatment of subject: all available treatments of the subject will be collected to varying degrees.  These include statistical, social, historical, practical, legal, etc.
Types of materials: collecting is split between books and journals.  Most common types of books such as symposium proceedings and bibliographies are collected, with the exception of items likely to be redundant (collections of previously published materials) or non-academic (hardware/software specific manuals).  There will also be a growing emphasis in the future on ejournals and Web resources.
Date of Publication: emphasis is on current publications.  Retrospective acquisitions are normally reserved for the replacement of important titles which have deteriorated or disappeared.
Coordination and cooperation with other campus resources: to properly support the interdisciplinary field of economics, coordination with such related areas as resource and environmental management, business administration, mathematics, and political science is important to ensure that broad information needs are met.
Other factors for consideration: none at this time.

Subjects and Levels of Collecting

The following table lists the main subjects collected by the SFU Library in support of the Economics teaching areas and research interests.  Subjects listed are collected to varying depths.  The method in which the library selects books on each subject is listed in the second column of the table.  A designation of “Books” in this column means that items which fit the General Guidelines (above) for the subject in question are sent on an approval basis to the library.  In such cases, a significant portion of the books on that topic will be acquired for the collection.  A designation of “Forms,” on the other hand, means that only brief descriptions of the books on the subject in question are sent to the library.  The liaison librarian, often with the assistance of the department or faculty representative or other faculty members, then selects the relevant items for acquisition by the library.
 

1. Humanities Division  
   a. History division  
      i. Economic History  Books
      ii. Science & technology history division  
         (1) Transportation history  Forms
2. Law division  
   a. Environmental law division  
      i. Environmental law - general  Forms
      ii. Natural resources law  Forms
      iii. Natural areas law  Forms
      iv. Mining law  Forms
      v. Environmental impact statements law  Forms
      vi. Oil & gas law  Forms
      vii. Public lands (Law)  Forms
      viii. Water (Law)  Forms
      ix. Water rights  Forms
      x. Ocean bottom (International law)  Forms
      xi. Pollution law  Forms
      xii. Other environmental law  Forms
3. Social sciences division  
   a. Economics division  
      i. Economics - general  Books
      ii. Economic conditions  Books
      iii. History of economic thought  Books
      iv. Economic analysis/theory division  
         (1) Economic analysis/theory - general  Books
         (2) Prices and price theory  Books
         (3) Capital & wealth  Books
         (4) Economic crisis  Books
         (5) Interest & usury  Books
         (6) Income & profit  Books
         (7) Consumption (Economics)  Books
         (8) Theory of production  Books
         (9) Poverty  Books
      v. Macroeconomics  Books
      vi. Microeconomics  Books
      vii. Econometrics & statistics  Books
      viii. Economic growth & development  Books
      ix. Public utilities  Books
      x. Government ownership  Books
      xi. Economics of industries  Books
      xii. Privatization  Forms
      xiii. Money & banking division  
         (1) Money & banking - general  Books
         (2) Inflation (Economics)  Books
         (3) International banking  Books
         (4) Savings institutions  Forms
      xiv. Credit management  Forms
      xv. Taxation division  
         (1) Taxation – general  Forms
         (2) Tax reform  Forms
         (3) Tax exemption  Forms
      xvi. Specific types of taxation  
         (1) Income tax  Forms
         (2) Sales tax  Forms
         (3) Property tax  Forms
         (4) Inheritance tax  Forms
         (5) Gift tax  Forms
         (6) Business taxes  Forms
         (7) Other specific taxes  Forms
      xvii. International economics  Books
      xviii. Economic alliances  Books
      xix. Economic planning/policy  Books
      xx. Economic forecasting  Books
      xxi. Comparative economics  Books
      xxii. Public finance division  
         (1) Public finance - general  Books
         (2) Local economics  Forms
         (3) National/local economic relations  Forms
         (4) Regional economics  Books
         (5) Public accounting  Books
      xxiii. Capitalism  Books
      xxiv. Socialist economics  Books
      xxv. Labor economics division  
         (1) Labor economics – general  Books
         (2) Labor supply  Books
         (3) Employment of specific groups  Books
         (4) Migrant workers  Books
         (5) Seasonal & part-time employment  Books
         (6) Employee benefits  Books
         (7) Employment/unemployment  Books
         (8) Brain drain  Books
         (9) Professionalism  Books
      xxvi. Economics of natural resources  Books
      xxvii. Economics of agriculture  Forms
         (1) Economics of food supply  Forms
4. Applied social studies division  
   a. Education division  
      i. Economics of education  Forms
         (1) Educational costs  Forms
5. Applied interdisciplinary social studies division  
   a. Hunger  Books
   b. Poverty  Books
   c. Housing/Homelessness  Books
6. Technology division   
   a. Mining engineering division  
      i. Economic geology  Forms
         (1) Assaying of minerals  Forms
7. Forestry division  
   a. Forest economics division  
      i. Forest economics - general  Forms
      ii. Forest exploitation & use  Forms
8. Career books division  
   a. Economics as a career  Forms

 
Created by MB. Last updated by TM 09/13/00.