Psychology Collection Policy

The library collects journals, monographic series, monographs, and specialized reference works. Non-scholarly, 'pop' psychology materials are collected very selectively. Tests and measurements are not collected by the library because of copyright concerns. A considerable amount of material in the field of testing and measurement, however, is collected.

To broaden access, journals are sought online when available. Print may be canceled to reduce costs when ownership of the online version is assured and the image quality is adequate. Monographs and other materials are generally purchased as printed text, although an increasing number of books are available electronically, especially reference works such as encyclopedias and handbooks. Most scientific abstracting and indexing sources are available as online databases. The library generally avoids purchasing current indexes in print format, and has begun discarding older index volumes that are duplicated electronically.