The collection is maintained by the Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library (SSHEL).
The Economics collection supports the research and instructional programs of the faculty and students of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Department of Economics. The primary research areas of the Department of Economics are development, econometrics, industrial organization, labor, macroeconomics & finance, microeconomics, political economy, and public.1 The collection consists of nearly three quarters of a million volumes in the Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library, the Main Bookstacks, and the Oak Street Storage Facility. Among the special collections is the Jacob H. Hollander Collection, which consists of approximately 4,500 books, papers, and manuscripts and is especially strong in scarce economic tracts from the 16th to the 20th centuries.
Version Date: March 2024
Statements
1. Collection Description
Purpose:
The primary purpose of the collection of economics materials in SSHEL is to support the research and instructional needs of the faculty and students of the Department of Economics. These programs include levels of study ranging from undergraduate through to Ph.D. degrees. Within the field of economics, key areas of focus include “Behavioral Economics, Development, Econometrics, Economic History, Financial Economics, Industrial Organization, International Economics, Labor Economics, Macroeconomics, Mathematical Economics, Political Economics, Public Economics, Economic Theory, and Urban Economics.”2 Undergraduate programs equip students for careers in “for-profit and non-profit business organizations, all levels of government, and education, with graduates venturing into industries such as banking, finance, marketing, insurance, and consulting, among others. Students also continue into a variety of graduate programs as well, including “accounting, finance, business, statistics, financial engineering, economics, and various other professional and academic Master and Doctorate programs.”3 Candidates for advanced degrees “may specialize in the following fields: development economics, econometrics, industrial organization, international economics, labor economics (which includes health and human resource economics), macroeconomics, microeconomics, environmental, and public economics. Graduate work leading to a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree is also offered by the department. The Ph.D. program prepares students “for careers in academia and for research positions in government, international organizations, and consulting.”4
Some publications of the Department of Economics include; The Quarterly review of economics and finance: journal of the Midwest Economics Association, Illinois economic statistics, The Quarterly review of economics and business, and Illinois economic outlook. Publications authored by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Bureau of Economic and Business Research, that are listed in the library’s catalogue, can be found here.
History of Collection:
The Economics collection originated as the Economics Seminar in December 1908 and was held in Lincoln Hall. From 1911 onwards, records indicate it was also called the Economics and Sociology Seminar. Around 1913, a separate collection of Economics materials, mainly duplicates from the Economics Seminar, was established in the Commerce Building and called the Commerce Reading Room. This new location provided Commerce students with more convenient access to the collection.
In 1925, both the collections from the Economics Seminar in Lincoln Hall and the Commerce Reading Room in the Commerce Building were moved to the new Commerce Reading Room in the then newly opened library building. The relocation of the two collections took around three years and was completed in 1928. Records indicate that between 1925 and 1944, these two collections were also known as the “Economics and Commerce Reading Room” and the “Sociology and Commerce Reading Room.” From approximately 1944 to 1948, records indicate that these names merged into the Commerce, Sociology, and Social Welfare Administration Library, colloquially known as the “Commerce Library”, and between 1949 and 1965, it was shortened to the Commerce and Sociology Library. Between 1965 and 2003, the Commerce and Sociology collections were separated, with the Commerce collection remaining on its own and the Sociology collection moving to the Education Library.
Between 2003-2012, the Economics collection was housed as part of the Business and Economics Library (BEL). In 2012, the Business and Economics Library (BEL) became a virtual service, with Business remaining on its own, and Economics merging with the Education and Social Science Library (ESSL) and Applied Health Sciences (AHS) Library to form the Social Sciences, Health and Education Library (SSHEL).
Estimate of Holdings:
750,000 volumes are held in SSHEL, the Main Bookstacks, and the Oak Street Storage Facility.
State, Regional and National Importance:
Due to significant holdings in economics, the library acts as a valuable resource for industry and governmental agencies at local, state, and national levels. Among the special collections is the Jacob H. Hollander Collection, which consists of approximately 4,500 books, papers, and manuscripts and is especially strong in scarce economic tracts from the 16th to the 20th centuries. A catalog entitled The Economic Library of Jacob H. Hollander has been published to help access these materials. Another notable collection is the papers of Julian L. Simon, a well-known UIUC (University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign) economist. The Nathan Austin Weston Collection, donated to the library in 1944, is especially strong in economic history and theory and contains numerous foreign titles, particularly German publications of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Unit Responsible for Collecting:
Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library (SSHEL)
Location of Materials:
Of the three quarters of a million economics volumes, around 4,000 are housed in the Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library (SSHEL). Retrospective materials, including earlier periodical volumes and almost all foreign language materials, can be found in the Main Bookstacks, the Oak Street Storage Facility, or the Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
Citations of Works Describing the Collection:
The Daily Illini. Urbana, Ill: The Gazette, 1907- .
Downs, Robert B. (ed.). Guide to Illinois Library Resources. Chicago: American Library Association, 1974. pp. 5-6.
Hollander, Jacob Harry, and Elsie Agnes Gillespie Marsh. The Economic Library of Jacob H. Hollander. Baltimore: Privately printed, 1937.
II. General Collection Guidelines
Languages:
English is the primary language of the collection. Materials in other languages are acquired selectively.
Chronological Guidelines:
The emphasis is on the 21st century, particularly the current decade. Older material is retained for research.
Geographical Guidelines:
Global coverage is an important strength of the collection and is required by researchers. While emphasis is placed on the U.S. there are no geographic limits on selection.
Treatment of Subject:
The Economics collection represents the economics disciplines which include the history of economic thought, economic theory, econometrics, public finance, international economics and monetary theory and practice. Peripheral areas such as labor economics, welfare economics, are acquired insofar as they are required as part of the Department of Economics’ curriculum.
There is overlap with the Law Library pertaining to the legal and economic aspects of antitrust and monopoly and the broad area of governmental regulation of business.
As a precise definition of what should be included under “Economics” is expansive and multidisciplinary in nature, SSHEL will continue to acquire materials as budgets allow, including materials in the aforementioned peripheral areas.
Types of Materials:
Print and electronic formats are collected.
Date of Publication:
No restrictions. Current imprints are primarily acquired. Retrospective materials are acquired based on uniqueness, researcher requests or recommendations, or to fill gaps in the existing collection. Generally, retrospective materials are received as gifts.
Place of Publication:
No restrictions. The emphasis is primarily on English speaking countries, particularly the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.
Principal Publishers
Routledge, Palgrave Macmillan, Cambridge University Press UK, Oxford University Press US, John Wiley, Springer, Oxford University Press UK, Princeton University Press, Edward Elgar, Emerald Group Publishing, MIT Press, Columbia University Press, Rowman & Littlefield, University of Chicago Press, and Yale University Press.
III. Collection Responsibility by Subject Subdivisions with Qualifications, Levels of Collecting Intensity, and Assignments
Below is a table that lists specific subject subdivisions within the collection. Each row in the table lists a specific subject subdivision, followed by three columns noting: Collection Strength, Primary Assignments and Secondary Assignments. The Existing Collecting Strength column notes how well the existing collection covers that topic on a 1 to 5 scale with 5 being very strong. The Primary Assignments column lists departmental libraries that have the greatest collection intensity of subject materials, respectively. In the case of 2 or more libraries listed, the collection intensity is comparable. The Secondary Assignments column lists departmental libraries where additional materials may be found.
| Economics Collection | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| SUBJECT SUBDIVISIONS | EXISTING STRENGTH | PRIMARY ASSIGNMENTS | SECONDARY ASSIGNMENTS |
| Economics-Econometrics | 4 | SSHEL | |
| Economics-Economic History | 3 | SSHEL | History |
| Economics-Economic Theory | 4 | SSHEL | |
| Economics-Environmental Economics | 2 | ACES Funk | SSHEL |
| Economics-History of Economic Thought |
4 | SSHEL | History |
| Economics-International Economics | 4 | SSHEL | |
| Economics-Monetary Theory and Policy |
3 | SSHEL | |
| Economics-Public Finance | 3 | SSHEL | |
| Economics-Data Science | 3 | SSHEL | |
| Economics-Regional Economics | 3 | SSHEL | ACES Funk |
| Economics-Urban Economics | 3 | SSHEL | ACES Funk |
| Agricultural Economics-Commodities (prices, trading, etc.) |
3 | ACES Funk | SSHEL |
| Agricultural Economics-Land economics |
3 | ACES Funk | SSHEL |
| Agricultural Economics-Rural Real Estate Appraisal |
3 | ACES Funk | |
1 Retrieved from https://economics.illinois.edu/research/research-areas, March 12, 2024
2 Retrieved from https://economics.illinois.edu/admissions/why-economics, March 21, 2024
3 Retrieved from https://economics.illinois.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions, March 21, 2024
4 Retrieved from https://economics.illinois.edu/academics/phd-program, March 21, 2024