National Library of Australia


State Library of Queenland collection assessment
Philosophy & religion

Division Report Comments :

Overall, the collection in this area is at Level 2b.

The total number of monographs in this division is 8087, that is, 2.03% of the monographs total of 397,000 quoted for State Reference Library and Special Collections in the 1996/97 annual report.

Largest holdings for this Division are in the publication year range 1985-89. 31% of the collection has been published in the last 10 years.

There are two distinct areas in this division - Philosophy (Dewey 100-129 and 160-199) and Religion (Dewey 200-299).

For Philosophy, the total number of monographs is 2520 and for Religion the total is 5569.

In the area of Philosophy, collection strength is in the areas of Ethics and Modern Western Philosophy. Ethics overlaps with the Conspectus Divisions of Medicine and Sociology in the areas of medical ethics and the ethics of sex and reproduction. With 50% of the monograph collection acquired in the last 10 years, this collection has good coverage of the whole area including recent developments and contemporary issues. Monograph holdings in the area of Modern Western Philosophy are also strong. However, serials holdings in this category are very limited.

For Religion, collection strength is in the area of Comparative Religion and Religions other than Christianity. This is an extensive collection with introductory material for a very large number of religions.

There is more in-depth coverage of better known religions such as Judaism, Buddhism and Islam. Sacred texts and guides to them, biographical works and interpretative material are included.

Holdings are also good for most areas dealing with Christianity including The Bible, Christian Theology and Church History. There is a small collection of videos relating to religion which augments the monograph collection.

It is Collection Development policy not to acquire any juvenile literature, school or tertiary curriculum texts or advanced academic research material. Apologia and devotional works are generally not acquired. Popular mass market material is not acquired.

Holdings in the John Oxley Library have not been included in this assessment. With its focus on Queensland history, this collection includes historical material relating to Religion in Queensland and Australia. As legal deposit library, this collection also includes material and textbooks relating to Philosophy and Religion published in Queensland.

Relevant sections of the following major standard bibliographies have been checked against State Library's monographic holdings:

Title

Total checked SRL holdings % held
ABN 1992-1996 Walford's Guide to Reference Material 6th ed 422 184 44
Collier's Encyclopedia 1078 405 38
Penguin Dictionary of Religions 1212 513 42
Philosophy: A guide through the subject 465 208 45

Serials: There are 40 open and 71 closed serials subscriptions. Relevant sections of the following bibliographies have been checked against State Library's holdings:

Title

Total checked SRL Holdings % Held
Periodicals in Print (Aust & NZ) 392 21 5
Magazines for Libraries (Katz) 127 18 14
Religion and Theology: A Guide to Ancient Reference Sources 99 7 7
Australasian Religion Index 61 13 21

Last modified: August 18 2004.