The following guide introduces collection managers to some of the University documents containing information needed to compile collection management policies and to keep managers informed of developments in their respective disciplinary areas. Many of the sources are available in the University Archives and others may be found in departments and colleges. Given minimal advance notice, the Archives staff can gather the relevant documents available in Archives and give you advice on the best sources for different types of information.
The basic source for information on faculty, curriculum, and program are the university catalogs published as part of the University Record. Presently, there are four catalogs being published: undergraduate, graduate, College of Medicine, and College of Law. In earlier years, the University Record often included other catalogs, reports, such as the colleges' biennial reports, and miscellaneous university documents. In addition to course descriptions, all of the catalogs include information on degree requirements, departmental faculty and chairs, accrediting bodies, and department missions. The graduate school catalog is also a good source for descriptions of interdisciplinary programs and the major research centers.
The University Archives has the only complete set of catalogs from 1905 to the present. (RF)
In 1961 and 1971, university-wide self-studies were conducted for the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. They are an excellent source for histories of the university's programs at the college level. Unfortunately, none of the department self-studies were published and few of the unpublished reports have survived. The self-studies include statistics on enrollment by major for 1906-1971. The volumes on the graduate program are particularly informative as they include data on Masters and Ph.Ds awarded since 1906 as well as graduate student enrollment by major. Both self-studies also paint a rather gloomy picture of the Library and may be useful in writing collection histories. (UColl)
The only departmental study in possession of the Archives is a 1970 self-study for the Geography Department. (VF)
All academic programs are subject to review by the Board of Regents every five years and the final reports are distributed by the State University System. The schedule for reviews can be obtained from the department chair. The reviews include an evaluation of programs at each of the state universities. The reviews should be available in both the department and college offices. The Office of Academic Affairs should also receive a copy and these eventually are transferred to the Archives.
The following SUS Academic Program Reviews (or at least the UF portion) are available in the Archives (2C, F-1):
Architecture and Related Programs, 1983The Archives also has a self-evaluation of Veterinary Medicine dated 1978.
All programs are reviewed by an accrediting body, usually every ten years. These reports may be the best single source on academic program. The reports should be available in either department or college offices. A few have made their way to the Archives via the Office of Academic Affairs (2C, F-1).
Building Construction, 1977The Archives has the following IFAS department reviews. Those highlighted are particularly useful as they contain departmental histories (2C, F-1).
Agronomy, 1976A comprehensive review of the Agricultural Library, with a history of the collection, was also done in 1979.
Many departments, colleges, and centers maintain up-to-date copies of curriculum vitae of their staff. These can be useful in appraising current research efforts. Non-current vitae are often found in the Archives biographical files.
Each of the three university budget units is responsible for grants administration in its area. In addition, the College of Engineering also maintains a grants office. The Dean for Research in the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences publishes an Annual Research Report. The Report includes a one paragraph synopsis of all published findings as well as a list, organized by department, of current research titles and a bibliography of published research. The Report also lists grants sponsors, the amounts awarded, and the names of principal investigators. It is available in MSL and the University Archives. (UColl)
The Engineering and Industrial Experiment Station oversees all engineering projects. Over the years EIES has produced several titles related to engineering research. Its current title, Research Reports, is published biennially. It is a hefty document providing extensive description of the individual research efforts in each engineering department as well as programmatic and interdisciplinary efforts. The titles and principal investigators of individual grants are provided as are the funding agencies. It also includes a list of faculty publications from each department. Research Reports is available in MSL and the Archives. (UColl)
The Division of Sponsored Research generates a computer list summarizing grants, donations, and awards by college and department. These summaries provide dollar amounts, grant titles, and principal investigators and are distributed to each college. The Archives will be receiving copies beginning in 1991. The same information is also available through NERDC via the Dean's Network. All collection managers should request that they be placed on the mailing list for FYI. Published about twenty times a year by the Division, FYI is primarily intended to keep faculty informed of grant sources and deadlines for applications. In the back, though, is a list of faculty grant awards.
If you are lucky, much of the basic history for your discipline has already been researched. In addition to the documents noted above, a couple of department histories have been written. One for the Psychology Dept. was written in 1980 (UColl), and for the Physics Dept. there is a chronology and brief narrative covering the period 1930-1969 (VF). Prof. John Grigsby in Music and Prof. Kevin McCarthy in English have done research in their departments' histories. The Archives has the manuscripts of the late W. W. McPherson who was writing a detailed and often anecdotal history of IFAS and its predecessors from the inception of the Florida Agricultural College in 1883 to the late 1970s. (MS)
The Graduate School compiles the abstract pages of all theses and dissertations approved in a particular semester and organizes them by department into a volume called Abstracts of Theses and Dissertations. The abstracts are shelved in Humanities and Social Sciences Reference and the Archives (UColl). The abstracts are available at approximately the same time that the circulating copy of the theses are shelved or about one to two semesters after the theses were approved by the Graduate School. They are an excellent source on recent graduate research and can be a useful tool for ongoing book selection as well as the creation of collection management policies.
Oddly, headcount enrollment by department is not published. These statistics are available on the Dean's Network. New student enrollment by department at both the undergraduate and graduate level is published by the Office of Academic Affairs in the UF Fact Book, an interesting compilation of facts about the University none of which are particularly relevant to collection policies. Recent issues are available in Reference and the Archives has a complete set (RF).
In the late 1960s, UF submitted applications for NDEA Title IV Fellowship Programs. The applications provide a window on the types of research being conducted at that time and an assessment of each program including an assessment of the library holdings in that discipline. These Institutional Applications, as they are called, are available in Archives (UColl).
Many departments and most of the colleges publish newsletters. The Archives has many back issues, but all collection managers should have their names placed on the mailing lists of their respective departments.
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ARCHIVES LOCATION GUIDE
UColl=University Collection
RF=Archives ready reference shelved in Special Collections reading room.
VF=Vertical File located in Special Collections reading room.
2C, F-1=Public Records Series 2C, file F-1, Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs
MS=Archives Manuscript Collections