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Pat Knight, Divisional Collection Management Librarian - Arts &
Humanities, with the assistance of Margaret Black, Assistant Divisional
Collection Management Librarian - Arts & Humanities
April 1997
1.1 To evaluate the Anthropology collections throughout the University
of Melbourne Library.
1.2 To identify areas of the collections which need
improvement in currency and scope.
1.3 To lay the foundation for a
collection management policy for Anthropology.
The collections were assessed using criteria set out in the Australian Conspectus Manual [1]:
Note: Low use materials are housed in the Kidds Warehouse. Items held in Kidds have not been included in this Conspectus evaluation.
The study of anthropology has its roots in the work of the early Greeks
through the study of natural history, philosophy and medicine, and through the
observations of travellers. But anthropology as a separate discipline only
began to emerge in the mid 1830s when social and biological studies began to be
integrated. It was the publication of Darwins Origin of Species
in 1859 that provided the impetus for anthropology to develop as a single
science.
Anthropology today is divided into two main areas of study; cultural
anthropology with its links to archaeology, sociology, linguistics, economics,
political science, and religion, and physical anthropology with its links to
genetics, primatology, human evolution, zoology and palaeontology.
Studies in anthropology can be further divided into theoretical studies
and ethnographic anthropology; the latter of which is geographically based. The
dominant research method for ethnographic anthropology is participant
observation, but the researcher and the student both depend on published
material to support their research and studies.
The types of sources used by the anthropologist are no different than those used by any other scholar in the social sciences - mainly monographs and academic journals. Both are of equal importance and material published in the latter part of the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries can be as important as more recently published works. Specific tools most commonly required by the anthropologist include scholarly treatises (in the original language and in translation), critical works, journal articles, conference papers, and proceedings and transactions of learned societies, as well as abstracting and indexing sources and reference materials. A developing area of anthropology is visual anthropology for which the primary research tools of film and video are supplemented by monographs and journals.
Anthropology within the University of Melbourne is situated in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science. Although anthropology, as a separate area of teaching, is a comparative newcomer to the University (the first lecture in anthropology being delivered in 1986 under the aegis of Asian Studies) the discipline was by no means unfamiliar. Sir Walter Baldwin Spencer, who took up the Foundation Chair in Biology in 1887, exerted a great influence in the study of anthropology, particularly ethnology, within the University. Many of the Librarys earlier acquisitions in anthropology derived from Spencers interest in this field.
Whereas physical and sociocultural anthropology in most North American universities is very closely aligned with archaeology and linguistics, Anthropology, within the University of Melbourne structure, is influenced more by the British model in which anthropology sits on its own, completely separate from archaeology. The focus of study and research in the University is on cultural anthropology.
The Department undertakes research in anthropology across a number of geographic regions. These include:
The Librarys collections are housed in a total of 20 libraries, some of which are small branch libraries and others which are quite sizeable. The collections relating to the subjects covered by the Anthropology Conspectus Division are housed in three main collections in the University Library; the main collection of the Baillieu Library, the Research Collections (the B and AB collections) in the Education Resource Centre (the ERC), and the ERCs main collection. In addition, the Zoology and Genetics Branch Library holds a number of monographs on physical anthropology; specifically on evolution and genetics and on prehistoric humans.
The Library has a microform collection of some 1,347,000 items which is housed in the Baillieu Library. The collection covers both serials and monographs, many of which are of importance for scholars doing historical research. Material is arranged in accession number order so cannot be browsed by subject. Material in this collection has not been included in the total volumes recorded in the Conspectus database.
The Library also has a number of special collections, collectively housed in the Special Collections Section of the Baillieu Library. These collections include an extensive range of material, much of which is rare and/or of historical value.
The Baillieu Library has a separate East Asian Collection. of Chinese
and Japanese language material which is classified according to the
Harvard-Yenching Classification. A separate Conspectus evaluation of this
material has been completed.
There are number of items of value to anthropology in microform,
including The Professional Correspondence of Franz Boas which contains
over 50,00 items dating from 1881 to 1942.
The information recorded on the Conspectus database does not include a
count of material in these Special Collections.
5.2.1 AX
Collection
This historical collection of Australian material contains
approximately 100 volumes which include works on the most important early
voyages of European contacts with Australia. These list and illustrate the
indigenous peoples of Australia.
5.2.2 BX Collection
The
historical collection of non-Australian works contains about 215 volumes
including a very good Darwinian collection.
5.2.3 Grimwade
Collection
This collection has a number of historical works of
relevance to anthropologists. One, A Catalogue of the Different Specimens
of Cloth Collected in the Three Voyages of Captain Cook [2], lists the
various tapa cloths used in the Pacific region in the 18th century.
5.2.4 McLaren Collection
This collection of Australian material
includes approximately 360 volumes published from the 1860s to the 1940s on the
ethnography of Australian Aboriginal peoples, dealing with both cultural and
physical anthropology. There are also 68 boxes of pamphlets and another 14
boxes of states and commonwealth Parliamentary Papers on Aborigines. In
addition there are a number of works on Aboriginal mythology. Finally, the
Collection has about 300 volumes relating to the Pacific region.
5.2.5 The Rare Books Collection
The Rare Books Collection
consists mainly of material which is of value as a physical object rather than
for its content. The collection includes a copy of the first edition of
Darwins Origin of Species (1859).
5.3 Collections Outside the University Librarys System
5.3.1 Australian Childrens Folklore Collection
The
Australian Childrens Folklore Collection, housed in the Universitys
Australian Centre, is an archive of 10,000 card files of childrens
games, rhymes, riddles, jokes, superstitions and other kinds of childrens
folklore, together with photographs, audio and video tapes, play artefacts and
a number of specialist collections of childrens lore. [3]
The following bibliographies were used to check how representative the Librarys collections are:
6.1.1 Monographs
Results from list checking reveal that
the Library holds just over 66% of the titles sampled from the two
bibliographic sources. The Library holds a higher proportion of titles cited by
Webb than by the International Bibliography 1991. The percentage of
items listed in the International Bibliography which are held by the
Library is an indication of the Librarys acquisitions over a one-year
period, with about 61% of the titles being acquired. Of the titles listed by
Webb and not held by the Library, the majority tended to be works published in
the 1970s. That is not to say that the Library is deficient in all 1970s
anthropology titles. It may, however, be an indication that there is some
weakness in the collection in works of this decade.
Table 1
Monographs
|
Bibliography |
Number Checked |
Number Held |
Percentage |
|
Internat. Bibl. 1991 |
149 |
91 |
61.1% |
|
Webb |
122 |
88 |
72.1% |
|
Overall |
271 |
179 |
66.1% |
6.1.2 Serials
The Library subscribes to 38.5% of
journals listed in the three sources examined. Not surprisingly the source with
the highest percentage of titles held is that which lists only core journals in
anthropology, Kibbee. It is worth noting that several of the titles from Kibbee
which were not held related to geographic regions in which the University has
no research interest (e.g. American Indians). Anthropological Index
and the International Bibliography 1994 both go beyond the core
titles, with the International Bibliography in particular including
titles from subject disciplines closely allied to the study of anthropology -
sociology, economics, political science, linguistics.
Table 2 Serials
|
Bibliography |
Number Checked |
Number Held |
Percentage |
|
Anthropol. Index. |
105 |
30 |
31.5% |
|
Internat. Bibl. 1994 |
262 |
103 |
39.3% |
|
Kibbee |
54 |
29 |
53.7% |
|
Overall |
421 |
162 |
38.5% |
In addition to list checking, shelves were also scanned to count the number of volumes at each subject line, the date ranges, the languages, and any titles worth noting. One problem in recording data line-by-line by Dewey number is that Dewey reflects a very much 19th century, museum studies view of anthropology. It has no significant relevance to the more interdisciplinary way in which anthropology is studied today. As a result many of the Dewey numbers examined in the Conspectus Division, Anthropology, were not seen as particularly relevant to the academics who were asked to assess the collection, acquisition, and goal levels.
All Anthropology academics from the Department of History and Philosophy of Science were consulted and asked to assign levels to subject lines on the Conspectus worksheets. They were also asked to identify strengths and weaknesses of the collection. Specific information on this is supplied in sections 10 and 11.
The total collection of monographs in anthropology amounts to approximately 9,600 volumes. A wide range of publication dates is represented (from the 18th century onwards) and the collection includes a wealth of materials in languages other than English.
The strengths of the collection vary not only according to the subject matter, but also according to publication dates. The Library has a strong collection of materials published between 1890 and 1930, but acquisitions dropped off in the 1930s and 40s; the era in which the study of personality and psychology was influencing ethnology. Collections were strengthened from the 1950s. In the last six years there has been an emphasis on developing the holdings of both retrospective and current materials.
There are some areas which need to be built up - see section 11 of this report. Acquisitions plans need to concentrate more on these areas. Overall the Anthropology monograph collection is rated a level 3a.
The Library currently subscribes to approximately 60 serials in Anthropology. Results of list checking indicate that the Library holds most of the core journals in cultural anthropology except for those covering geographic regions in which the University has no research interest. Nevertheless, It should be noted that the Library also has a strong collection of journals in subject disciplines related to anthropology with which the researcher would be expected to be familiar. Overall the rating for the journal collection in anthropology is level 3a.
The Library has a wide range of general reference material in anthropology as well as a strong collection of more specialised resources such as bibliographies, particularly those relating to the regions in which the University specialises. The collection is at a level 3b.
The University Library holds or provides access to a wide range of indexing and abstracting tools of relevance to Anthropology in both print and electronic form. The collection is judged to be at a level 4. Titles include:
The Librarys main research strength is in its collections of mid 19th century to early 20th century publications relating to Australasia and the Pacific Islands. Most of this material is housed in Special Collections and in the Research Collections. Today these works would more likely be of interest to the historian than the anthropologist.
Anthropology of Europe is an area of developing interest for researchers. Whereas southern Europe and the Mediterranean countries were the focus of anthropological studies in the 1970s, interest has recently broadened to cover the whole of Europe. This has largely come about as a result of the collapse of the Berlin Wall and of communism in Eastern European countries. Most material being published in Europe is in English or French regardless of its place of publication. Specific areas of interest for the University of Melbourne include European ethnicity, kinship and family, social structure and modern Greece.
This is a growing area of study and research and is interdisciplinary in nature. Academic staff believe that the Librarys collections need improvements not only in the amount of primary and secondary research materials, but also in student textbooks. Specific areas of applied anthropology identified by academics are as follows:
Cultural ecology, the study of the processes of adaptation and change in specific societies under particular environmental conditions [4], is another rapidly growing area of research. There is a need to ensure that the Librarys collection of teaching and research materials is expanded and kept up-to-date.
Development studies impact across a number of disciplines including anthropology, geography, history and economics. Specific teaching and research interests in the Universitys Anthropology program are in developmental studies in relation to South East Asia, the Pacific and Africa. The collection needs to include primary and secondary research materials and textbooks.
Evolutionary psychology, which grew out of sociobiology, is an international growth area across a number of fields of study, including anthropology. The Library needs to insure that its collections reflect this increase in research focus.
11.6 Human Ecology and Evolutionary Ecology in New Guinea
A new lecturer with research interests in human ecology and evolutionary ecology in New Guinea will soon take up an appointment in the Anthropology Programme in April 1997.
Medical anthropology is a developing area of teaching and research in the University. It largely falls outside the Dewey numbers examined in this Conspectus Division and so will be covered in more detail in the Sociology Conspectus report.
The Library has a reasonable collection of material on the anthropology of sex and gender, but more recent works need to be added.
The Library has a good historical collection of material on sorcery and witchcraft, but the collection needs to include more recent works on contemporary witchcraft, magic and the supernatural in industrialised societies, and contemporary religions in society.
I would like to thank the academic staff from the Anthropology Programme of the Department of History and Philosophy of Science who generously gave their time in assisting with this assessment.
Last modified: August 18 2004.
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